Rose's Journey: Darkness Arises
by GrovRose
Summary: Rose was the outcast of Ponyville. The ponies would constantly make fun of her, and her glowing mane. But little does this timid, earth pony know that she is the key to saving the world from disaster. I will not be finishing this one.
1. Welcome to Rose's Life

**Quick notes:** _This story takes place in the G3 era. And also, Minty's personality is different than her regular old self. This is because she is Rose's grandmother. I am also very aware that some of my fanfic is inaccurate to the game. This is the first part of the Rose's Journey series. After I finish this story, I will be uploading the second part in the series. It will be based off of the story line of PMD 2 and 3. This story takes place before all that. Since it takes place before the actual story happens, Darkness Arises does contain major gaming spoilers. Another thing, if you do not know about these "Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon" characters, I would recommend playing the game, or feel free to ask me about them. I would be very happy to assist you._

**Disclaimer: All related "My Little Pony" characters belong to Hasbro.**

**All related "Pokemon" characters belong to Chun Soft: The Pokemon Company, and Nintindo.**

**Characters such as Rose, Midnight, Daisy Bloom, ect., belong to me.**

**Thank you for your understanding.**

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

**Welcome to Rose's Life**

It was a typical day in Ponyville. There was a very beautiful rainbow in the big, blue sky. The ponies tended to their daily routines peacefully. Many ponies lived there, including Ponyville's very own Princess Rose. Yup, Rose was the princess of Ponyville, but even though she was from royalty, things didn't always go her way most of the time. Why's that? Well, the reason is the fact that Rose stood out from all the other ponies.

Her mane often gives off an unnatural blue glow, which glows most of the time when Rose takes walks under the sparkling, starry sky at night. Her mane was not the only trait that puzzled the other ponies; they found Rose's cutie-mark to be pretty odd, as well. Engraved on her soft, pink coat was some sort of gear. It was a blue gear with a strange pattern on it. No one knew what kind of gear it was, or what it was supposed to represent. She also had the very same gear on her hoof, unlike the common heart shape that all the ponies had. The other ponies would often make fun of her, and call her all sorts of names. This wasn't very fun for her.

Rose decided to take a walk around the town. "Bye, Minty! I'm going out to get some fresh air!"

"Ok, dear, but be sure not to stay out too long. I don't want to have to come and get you when it gets too dark. I know how timid you can be."

"Ha, ha, very funny Mints." Rose responded sarcastically. "I'm not going to get myself lost again. See you later." Rose left Celebration Castle, and started her walk around Ponyville. She wore her special Magani-claw around her neck proudly.

"Hey, firefly!" called Daisy Bloom, a pony with a dark, pink coat, and blonde hair.

"Daisy Bloom, why must you always call me that?" Rose asked while walking up to her.

"I call you that because you're the only pony here that's got freaky, blue, glowing hair!" She tugged at Rose's mane.

"Hey, quite it!"

"Have you had enough?"

"You know Daisy, you should do something wise for a change like keeping your mouth shut!"

"Why you little...!"

The two ponies soon broke out into a cat-fight. All the other ponies gathered around to watch the action. Minty, hearing the commotion outside, rushed out and stopped the fight. Rose was unwillingly dragged inside. Minty did not looked pleased.


	2. Somewhere I Belong

**Chapter 2:**

**Somewhere I Belong**

When they got inside, Minty started to wash the red marks off of Rose's pink fur. "Oww! Watch it!"

"This has got to stop, Rose. This the third fight you've gotten into with Daisy Bloom this week."

"It's not my fault, Daisy Bloom always starts it."

"It dosn't matter who starts what, the the best thing to do is to ignore her. Minty finished cleaning the wounds off of Rose.

"Well, next time she won't be so lucky." Rose muttered quietly to herself. Rose went upstairs to her bedroom. She always did this when her days were bad. A few hours passed. Minty, being concerned, decided to go check on her.

When upstairs in her bedroom, she found Rose sitting in her bed, looking at a picture of her parents. Rose's parents lived far off from Ponyville, so it was hard for them to visit often.

"So, you still miss them, huh?" Minty asked while walking up to her bed.

"Yeah."

"Rose, don't go on worrying about today. Things will get better tomorrow."

"In case you haven't noticed, Minty, my life sucks."

"No it doesn't, Rose. Quite talking like that."

"It does too, and you know it. Things just haven't been the same since they left."

"Lightning and Rose Blossom chose what was best for you. They wanted to raise you into a proper princess, so they sent you here."

"Well, see that's the thing. I keep thinking to myself that I wasn't meant to be the princess."

"Why is that, Rose?"

Rose pointed to her cutie-mark. "See this?"

"Yes, that's your cutie-mark."

"Well, I think it fits into something somewhere outside of Ponyville. I want to find out where that is." Sighing deeply, she admitted, "I just keep thinking to myself that I don't belong here."

"Rose, you do belong here. You belong in Ponyville with me, and all your friends."

"What friends? I don't have any!"

"Please no yelling, Rose. Some of the other ponies have gone off to bed already."

"Nobody wants to be my friend because I'm the only pony who lives here that has a mane that gives off a wired, blue glow! All the other ponies just laugh at me, and call me names."

"Well, I like you just the way you are. And just you wait; someday someone will learn to love your special blue glow."

"Yeah, I don't think that will ever happen."

"Rose, stop being so negative. One day you will meet a special someone in your life, who has special feelings for you. He will always be there for you when you've had bad days, and he will love you just the way you are."

"Um, I hate to break it to you, Minty, but no guy is ever going to love me, or my freaky, glowing mane."

Minty handed something to her. It was a pink, heart-shaped locket.

"What is this?" Rose asked.

"This is something I've been waiting to give you for a special occasion. Your mother sent this along with you when you were only a little mare. This locket first belonged to me, then I passed it on to your mother, and now it belongs to you now."

"Wow. Thank you, Mints. I'll be sure to treasure it."

"I knew you'd like it. One day, love will find you like it did to your mother and I. Good night, Rose. I hope this talk helped." Minty then left the room.

Rose gazed at the locket. "Maybe Minty's right. Maybe one day, love will find me." She smiled and put the precious locket in a safe place, and then she fell fast asleep.


	3. A Plan To Change the Darkness

**Chapter 3:**

**The Plan to Change the Darkness**

The next day, in a dark, foggy forest far off from Ponyville, a big chase was taking way. Running through the forest were six purple creatures. They had gems for eyes, and had three sharp claws on each of their hands. "Come on!" yelled Midnight, a black winged unicorn. "Run faster you dumb Sableye! We can't let him get away!"

The seven of them were chasing an odd-looking creature. He had a light green body, with a bright red belly, and on it was one lime green stripe. Attached to the top of his head was a long, dark green leaf. His eyes were a golden color. He also had three sharp, blade-like leaves on each of his arms, and had two leaves that formed a tail. The creature was jumping from tree to tree.

"You're not getting away from us, Grovyle!" yelled Midnight.

"Oh, yes I will!" Grovyle jumped off the tree, and landed on the ground. "Come and get me!" he called.

"Grovyle, you're making this too easy!" Just as Midnight and the Sableye were about to approuch Grovyle, he quickly pulled out a luminous orb from his bag and threw it on the ground. A bright white light followed.

"Whee-hee! We can't see!" cried the Sableye.

"Quite your whining! The effects of the orb are only temporary!"

Once the light disappeared, Grovyle was gone. "B...blast it! We lost him!"

"Whee-hee-hee!" laughed the Sableye.

"Why are you guys so happy? We failed, and now we have to go report this to Lord Dusknoir back at Temporal Tower! Come on, you gem heads!" Midnight and the Sableye retreated back to Temporal Tower, leaving the quiet forest behind them.

Once the coast was clear, Grovyle popped out of the ground. He had used the luminous orb for cover, and then used the move dig. "Ha! I can't believe they fell for that!" he smirked. "Midnight and those Sableye should know by now that catching me is not an easy task." Grovyle looked around the dark, foggy forest. "I've spent to much time here. I'd better go find Celebi before Midnight and her army of creeps comes back looking for me."

Soon, after some traveling, Grovyle approuched the small cottage that he and Celebi called home. Grovyle and Celebi made their home in Dusk Forest. The forest got its name because of the dark fog that surrounded it. The cottage was carefully hidden deep in the forest, so Midnight and the others couldn't find them.

Grovyle knocked on the door, which was soon answered by a pink, fairy-like creature. "My dear Grovyle, you had me worried." "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner, Celebi, but had to deal with Midnight and the Sableye."

"Well, I'm happy you were able to escape them safely. I don't know what I'd ever do if anything were to happen to you, tee-hee!"

Celebi suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of which, how goes your research? Have you found out a way to prevent the Planet's Paralysis yet?"

"Yes, Celebi. I have found the very solution to this crises, however, it won't be easy."

"What did you find out?"

"When doing my research, I came across something rather interesting."

"Interesting?" she asked. "Yes. I learned about these rare treasures known as Time Gears." "Time Gears? What are those?"

"Time Gears are these rare treasures that are hidden in different areas around the world. There are said to be five of them. Legend has it that if they are placed into the slots located in the pinnacle atop Temporal Tower, time shall be restored to normal everywhere!"

Celebi felt exuberant about what Grovyle had just stated. "Oh, wow! Really? What an amazing discovery! We finally have a chance to change this world of darkness!"

"Yes, I know. The thought of changing it makes my pulse race. It's always been my dream of giving this future a new life, but, we have a few problems."

"Oh? What kinds of problems?"

"First off, we have no way of knowing of where these Time Gears are located. Another problem is that since Temporal Tower is collapsed in our future, it won't have any effect if we set the Time Gears in the slots. However, there is another method."

"Another method?" "Yes. Since time is still flowing in the world of the past, then the tower has not yet collapsed in the past world. If we were somehow able to locate all five of the Time Gears, then take the Passage of Time to the past, we could place the Time Gears on top of Temporal Tower, and prevent the Planet's Paralysis!"

"Grovyle, that's such an amazing plan! I'm sure if we work at it, we could very well change this world of darkness!"

"Yes, I know. But we still don't know of how to find the Time Gears."

"Knowing you, my dear Grovyle, I'm sure you'll think of something, tee-hee!"

Grovyle decided to that he needed some time to think to himself. "Celebi, I'm going out to take a walk. I hope to be back shortly." Grovyle headed out the door, and into the foggy darkness.

"Take care, my dear Grovyle!"


	4. Dusknoir's Plan

**Chapter 4:**

**Dusknoir's Plan**

Far off from Dusk Forest, was the collapsed Temporal Tower. It floated in sky, surrounded by unrelenting darkness. Nothing moved, as everything stood motionless. Boulders coming off the tower floated in the sky, and remained at standstill. The tops of trees were bare, and there was not a ray of sunlight to be found. Everything remained dark. Midnight and the Sableye were now just arriving at Temporal Tower, the place that they called home.

When entering the tower, Midnight was approached by some sort of ghost looking creature. He had a gray body, with two huge arms. And like his arms, his hands were huge, and they looked somewhat similar to a human's. He had two yellow stripes one each of his powerful arms, and on his rounded stomach formed some sort of a face. On his forehead was a single yellow stripe, and attached on the top of his head was a yellow antennae. Around his neck formed some sort of collar, and he had one eye with a yellow iris and a red pupil.

"Aw, Midnight. Did you manage to capture that wretched Grovyle like I wanted?"

"No my Lord Dusknoir, he slipped away from me."

"Curses."

"But not to worry, my lord. I'll try not to fail you again."

"Good, but that's not the only matter of discussion I wanted to talk to about. I just finished speaking with Master Dialga, and what I heard from him was not good news."

"What kind of bad news?"

"He told me that there is a way the Dark Future can be stopped."

Midnight was very shocked about what he had just stated. "What? T...that's impossible!"

"I know. It was hard for me to believe at first too."

"So, how can the Dark Future be changed?"

"There is a certain about how a pony and a trusted, Pokemon partner can bring peace back to the world. I have a huge hunch that the trusted, Pokemon partner the legend is Grovyle, because both you and I know very well that Grovyle is determined to put an end to this world of darkness."

"So, what about the pony? Do you know anything about her at all?"

"It says that the pony in the legend appears to have some sort of special ability called the Dimensional Scream."

"Dimensional Scream? What is the ability's purpose?"

"It's able to locate rare treasures known as Time Gears, but the ability has a drawback. The ability can not be triggered unless a trusted, Pokemon partner is present alongside of the the user. The ability itself is basically these weird, dizzy spells that the user creates by touching something or someone. It can only be used for locating Time Gears, nothing more."

"Wow. So the legend really said all that?"

"Indeed. And it also mentioned that the pony which has the ability lives somewhere in Ponyville. I'm unsure if Grovlye knows anything about this, but we should still act cautiously. We can't risk Grovyle coming in contact with her."

"So, do you have some sort of plan?"

"My plan is this. I want you and the Sableye to go to Ponyville, and bring the chosen pony to me so I can eliminate her. We must get rid of this pony, because it is for the sake of..."

Midnight cut him off. "Yeah, yeah. I know the drill. It's for the sake of Master Dialga, who wants anyone who is a threat to history, to be removed from history."

"Good. You seem to have some sort of understandance. Since I've alarmed you about what's going on, I suggest you get on with your mission. Once that is done, will continue to put all are efforts on finding Grovyle and Celebi."

"I understand, my lord. I will leave with the Sableye as soon as I finish making preparations."

"Good."

Midnight left the room with the Sableye tagging along behind her.

"Try not to fail!"


	5. Darkness in Ponyville

**Chapter 5:**

**Darkness in Ponyville**

On that very same day, something strange had become of Ponyville. It looked nothing like the bright and colorful place they had once called their home. The atmosphere was dark and motionless. The sun was nowhere to be found in the sky, and the dew drops on leaves didn't seem to fall. Rainbow Waterfall stood motionless, and the wind didn't seem to blow. These unusual events started to concern the ponies.

The ponies were gathered in front of Celebration Castle, giving Minty their complaints. Minty struggled trying to calm down the ponies.

"Ok! Ok! One at a time! It's hard for me to hear everyone's complaints if you are all talking at once!" The ponies managed to calm themselves down. "Good. Everyone seems to have settled down, so now you can tell me your complaints one at a time."

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. "Nothing looks as bright and colorful as it should, and worst of all, darlings, there isn't a single rainbow in the sky!"

"Ok, that sounds like a real problem, but I'm sure there's and explanation behind it, as well as any of these other strange happenings."

Wysteria was next. "All of Ponyville's plants and flowers are dying due to lack of sunshine. It saddens me inside."

"Ok, now that is even worse. I understand that this is very hard for you, and your garden, Wysteria. And if there are no plants, then what are we going to eat?" After hearing that, all the ponies went into a sudden panic. "Calm down! I'm sure we have some extra food lying around." Minty said assuringly.

Sparkle Works spoke up. "Do you know what all this means, Minty?"

"Sadly Sparkle Works, I don't. I have no clue what's happened to our beloved town. I've even talked to Spike about it, but even he being one of the wisest, doesn't know what's going on either."

"What about Kimono?" asked Sweet Berry.

"I've haven't seen her around lately, Sweet Berry. We could all really use her knowledge on this, considering she is the wisest pony in the land."

"Well then, what do we do about it?" Sunny Daze asked.

"There's nothing we can do, Sunny. The only thing we can do as of now is wait until Kimono returns."

Sweet Berry spoke up again. "What should we do while she's gone?"

Minty answered Sweet Berry. "While she's gone, all of you should just continue on with your regular activities until then." All the ponies looked at one another, and then looked back at Minty. "Ok. I know it won't be easy for any of us, but all of us should just find something to do until she returns." The ponies were then dismissed.


	6. Kimono's Wisdom

**Chapter 6:**

**Kimono's Wisdom**

Meanwhile, far off from Ponyville, Grovyle was still taking his walk through Dusk Forest. He was still pondering in his mind about finding the Time Gears. "There has to be some way of finding the Time Gears, and If I don't locate them soon, the world is done for." While walking, Grovyle came across a flowing river. "Hmm, interesting." he observed. "I guess there are some areas that have not yet been affected by the Planet's Paralysis." After hearing of what he just said, he caught himself getting off of track. "Oh, Grovyle! What are you thinking? You've got yourself a mission to complete, and there's no time to waste." He continued onward.

Meanwhile, not far from Grovyle, was Midnight lurking in the sky with the Sableye not far behind her. They had started traveling to Ponyville, like Lord Dusknoir had wanted. "Well, well. What do we have here?" she muttered to herself. "First I'm sent to Ponyville, and what do I find? An added bonus! Lord Dusknoir will be pleased." She eyed Grovyle carefully. "But first things first, how should I kill him?" Midnight glanced at the river, and then at Grovyle. Just then, something nasty began to shape in her mind. "I've got it. I'll just give him a huge dose of my old dark pulse when he isn't looking, and bam! He falls into the river, goes down the waterfall, and then its good-bye Grovyle!" She thought to herself again, thinking it over. "But it's still a shame, though. He's just so cute when he acts like a complete idiot, but I have to do this for the sake of Master Dusknoir." Midnight got her dark pulse ready. "Grovyle! Your end has come!"

Grovyle, hearing Midnight's shout, turned around and was hit by her attack. Just like Midnight had planned, Grovyle had fallen into the flowing deluge. He struggled to stay afloat, but he managed to get his head above the strong currents. "Wh...what happened?" he questioned himself cluelessly. He found his answer once he spotted Midnight flying above the river. "Midnight, I should have known it was you who was behind all this."

She responded to him with an evil smirk. "It took you this long to catch on, Grovyle? Who else would it be trying to drown you? I'm clearly the most wicked pony of them all! Neither pony nor Pokemon has a chance of defeating me, or Master Dusknoir! Give up, Grovyle! There's no way you will ever change this world of darkness! There's no hope for you, or anyone whose suffering!"

Grovyle just smiled at her. "Midnight, you can say whatever you like, but in the end, it won't matter."

"What are you blabbing about this time?"

"As long as I work hard at my dream, it will come true."

Midnight just stared at him blankly. "What the hell are you talking about? There's no hope!"

"Oh, no, Midnight. You may say those things, but one day I will succeed. I will change this world of darkness, and give it a new life. I will see it through until the end!"

Midnight couldn't believe what he just said, but it was to be expected. Grovyle was a Pokemon who didn't believe in failure, and rarely gave up. Sometimes his leadership and nobility just sickened her. "You and your stupid determination." she finally muttered. "But it's none of my concern. Enjoy the falls!" Midnight quickly flew off with the Sableye racing after her.

"Sometimes I just don't get her. Why must she be so cold hearted? And what did she mean by saying "Enjoy the falls"?" Grovyle looked ahead to see his answer. "Oh, that's why. Great. I can tell this is going to be a rather unpleasant ride." He screamed loudly as he fell down the waterfall and became silent after hitting his head on a rock.

The river flowed through Ponyville's meadow, where Kimono, the wisest pony in the land, lived. She noticed the odd, unconscious creature floating in the stream. "My, an injured creature! Is he alright?" Kimono dragged the hurt Grovyle out of the river to see if she could do anything to help. She checked his pulse. "He appears to be breathing."

Grovyle began to move. "Oww, my aching head." he moaned. "Wh...where am I?"

Kimono answered him. "You're in the Ponyville meadow, or my home."

"Ponyville? What kind of a place is that?"

"It's where all the local ponies live, my dear Grovyle."

Grovyle, feeling a bit shocked, quickly sat up. "H...how do you know my name?" he questioned.

"There's no need to be afraid, my brave and noble one. I know of all living creatures, including you. I am Kimono. The wisest pony in the land, and what you are trying to accomplish is truly outstanding."

Grovyle felt confused. "Wait! You know of, the Planet's Paralysis?"

"But of course, I know everything there is to know about it. I just told you, didn't I? I am the wisest pony in all the land. And may I ask of how you got here?"

"Well, if you really must know," he began. "I was taking a walk through Dusk Forest, when all of a sudden out of nowhere, I was attacked by a wickedly evil, black winged uni..."

She cut Grovyle off. "Wait! You do mean Midnight, don't you?"

"So you know of her?"

"Yes, and I do happen to know she is not a very friendly creature. It's because of the dark aura inside her heart. She feels no emotions, nor does she care about anyone but herself. She's just cruel, evil, and cold hearted!"

He began to rant along with her. "I couldn't agree with you more! She truly is a twisted creature! Even once I called her my lover, but that was until I found out the dreaded truth when she turned on me! She played me for a fool! And even after all that, I still have feelings of sympathy for her! I curse myself for being too kind! She's the very reason I don't open up my heart to anyone anymore, because I don't want to risk my heart being shattered to pieces again! I shall never love again!"

"Well, I feel truly sorry that you had to go through all of that. She is certainly a pony who isn't worth trusting, and I do hope your heart's wounds heal over time. But other then that, do you wish for my advice?"

That thought had never crossed Grovyle's mind before. Kimono must know many things if she was given the title of being the wisest pony. He pondered for a moment, and then something came to his mind. "Kimono, after talking with you, I couldn't help but noticed your vast wisdom. You are amazingly wise, which is why I want to ask you of this. Do you happen to know anything of the Time Gears? If so, I could really use your years of wisdom to use."

She answered his question. "Yes, I have heard of them. Each one keeps time flowing properly throughout its region, correct?"

"Yes. That's about right. Since you know of them, then here is my question; do you know of the locations of the Time Gears?"

Kimono, after hearing his request, went into a trance. Gusts of wind blew through her long, purple mane. Grovyle waited anxiously for her answer. Once she was released from the trance, she got her answer.

"Sadly, I do not."

"Oh, that's Ok..." he responded, feeling a bit crestfallen.

"But don't feel disappointed, my brave Grovyle. There is still hope! There is still hope to change this dark world!"

After hearing her words, Grovyle felt a glimmer of hope develop inside of him. "There is?"

"Yes, there is a way. There is a certain Ponyville legend about a pony, and her trusted Pokemon partner."

"A...trusted...partner?"

"Yes," she answered. "A trusted partner. A grass type Pokemon, if I'm not mistaking."

Grovyle's heart began to thump wildly, and he soon started to drift off into his own thoughts. "_A grass type Pokemon? Wait! I am a grass type! Could I be this trusted Pokemon partner described in the legend?"_ Grovyle left his thoughts, and then turned toward Kimono. "Kimono, if you would be so kind as to tell me more about this chosen Pokemon?"

"Yes. I will tell you more of this chosen Pokemon. This Pokemon grew up in a world of eternal darkness. Nobel and kind, this Pokemon was determined to bring peace to the world by giving the Dark Future a new life."

Grovyle couldn't help but feel like he had known all this stuff before. It all sounded too familer, but why did it? That is what he didn't understand. "A new...life?"

"Yes," Kimono answered. "He wanted to improve the lives of others, even if it could mean giving up his own. Grovyle, you, are the very Pokemon spoken in this legend."

Grovyle felt a sense of shock. "I am? Well, this is a little too much. I mean, how could I be..."

"There is no need to be bashful, my noble fighter. It is your destiny."

"So, if I am the trusted Pokemon partner in this legend that you speak of, then what of the pony?"

"The chosen pony is said to still be living in this world to this very day. She is said to be very young and beautiful. She came to be into this world when the five Time Gears were separated, and became hidden in areas throughout the world."

"Can you give some sort of description of what she looks like?"

"Her fur is light pink, soft to the touch. Her cutie-mark is looks very much like a Time Gear. She has two, sparkling, blue eyes, and her flowing, long mane is the very same color as that of a Time Gear's. It also gives off a beautiful, green-blue radiance similar to one as well."

Grovyle found it very hard to maintain himself from Kimono's description, but he was able to. "She must look extraordinarily beautiful. But may I ask, what does she have to do with the Time Gears?"

"She processes an extraordinary ability known as the Dimensional Scream."

"Dimensional Scream? I've never heard of such an ability."

"That's no surprise, considering that not many people know of how this ability is learned. It played a vital part in locating the Time Gears."

"Really? That's a huge help for me, but how is this ability triggered?"

She answered him. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I know nothing of how this ability is triggered. But I do know this, the chosen pony lives in Ponyville. You must find her, but you must find her quickly. Midnight and the Sableye have been sent to Ponyville so they may get rid of her. You must find her, so you two can become one and find the Time Gears."

"Kimono, I thank you sincerely for all this knowledge you have given me. Without it, I possibly would have just given up. It has really helped me a lot. Thanks to it, I can go about my duty of collecting the Time Gears!" Grovyle, feeling reassured that there was a way to change the Dark Future, rushed off to Ponyville in pursuit.

Kimono realized what he had just said to her. "Now, wait a minute! He wants to collect the Time Gears? I thought he only wanted to find them. I seem to recall something in the legend stating that something happened once the Time Gears were removed. Now what was it? Ugh, even if I am the wisest pony in all the land, I still tend to forget of things. Oh, well. It probably wasn't anything too important."


	7. Grovyle's Reasoning

**Chapter 7:**

**Grovyle's Reasoning**

Grovyle arrived in Ponyville and noticed the dark, suspended atmosphere. "Well, it looks as if the Dark Future has already spread here. Well, no matter, the sooner I find the chosen pony, the better." Very suddenly while walking, he accidently collided into Daisy Bloom, one of Ponyville's residents. "Oh, I am so very sorry. I did not intend to bump into you like that." Grovyle apologized as he helped her back to her hoofs.

"Ahhh! A monster!" she screamed. Daisy Bloom, feeling very terrified, ran to Celebration Castle in pursuit to warn the others.

"Well, that was certainly strange. I wonder why she ran away from me?"

Meanwhile, at the castle, Minty had become very worried. Rose had wondered away from the castle earlier and had not yet returned. "Where is she? Why has she failed to return? Surly she hasn't gotten herself lost? Oh, where has my little Rose gone?"

"Don't worry about it, Minty," Rainbow Dash assured her. "I'm sure your darling Rose will turn up soon."

Minty knew she was right. "I know, you're right, Rainbow. Because of this darkness concealing Ponyville, I'm afraid that she's gotten herself lost while trying to return home."

"Well, I'm certain she will somehow find her way back here."

Daisy Bloom dashed into the room. "Minty! Minty! Minty!" she cried.

"What is it, Daisy Bloom? You sound as if you've seen a ghost, or something"

Daisy Bloom tried to catch her breath before explaining. "Minty, there's a scary, dragon looking thing outside! And worst of all, it touched me!"

Minty didn't believe her statement at first. "Daisy, are you sure it just isn't Spike trying to scare everyone again?"

"What are you talking about?" questioned Spike, walking up to Minty. "I've been in the castle this entire time."

Minty looked at Spike, then back at the trembling Daisy Bloom. "Ok, ponies! Come on! We'd better check this out!"

Meanwhile, back with Grovyle, he was still wondering around completely lost, still in search of the chosen pony. "Hmm, still no sign of her. I'd really hate to admit it, but, perhaps that Kimono was wrong. Perhaps she's just messing with me." What was Grovyle saying? This was not the time to be negative. "No. What am I thinking? Kimono wasn't lying, I just simply haven't found her yet. This place is home to many ponies, but out of the lot of them, one of them is unlike the rest. Yes, this pony has been wondering around lost in the world, searching for her purpose. Once I find her, I will tell her of that purpose, the purpose of locating the very rare Time Gears. Once we collect all five, the both of us must then time travel to the past and insert them in the slots atop of Temporal Tower. After completing all that, I will have finally succeeded in my mission, my mission of stopping the Planet's Paralysis."

"There he is!" called Daisy Bloom. Minty and the large group of ponies then had the reptile surrounded.

Grovyle felt relieved. Finally, local resiednts he could speak to. "Oh, thank goodness! The lot of you arrived at the perfect timing! I desperately wish to speak to you all!"

The ponies, not listening to his joyful cries, grabbed ahold of Grovyle, and threw him into a metal cage. Grovyle was confused. What had he done wrong? He grabbed onto the cold, metal bars and demanded to know of what was going on. "What is the meaning of this? I am not a criminal!"

"Yeah, right." Daisy Bloom said, speaking with a hint of sarcasm."How are we even supposed to believe you? It's obviously a trick. How could anyone so scary be so good? You look kind of shady to me."

"I am speaking of the truth! I've only come here in search of a pony! You must believe me!"

"So, you're searching for a pony? For what reason? So you can eat her as an appetizer? Hey, I've got a good idea! Say, if you want to eat any pony, we'll let you eat Rose, she has no use to us."

Minty felt insulted by Daisy's comment. "Daisy Bloom! That was very rude of you! Rose is welcome here!"

"Well, look, all I'm saying is Ponyville is better off without her and this is a rare opportunity. With her being eaten by dragon breath over there, all of us ponies can finally live in peace."

"What? Eat her? I am no cannibal! I am Grovyle, a Pokemon who has come to save your world!"

Minty was confused. "Wait, save it? You mean, you know what's become of our home?"

"But of course, now would you please be so kind as to let me out of here?"

Minty unlocked the cage, like Grovyle had commanded. "I'm very sorry for this whole mess. Sometimes us ponies assume things that aren't true."

"You are forgiven, and I would be very glad to tell you all of what has become of your home."

"Yes, please do!" Minty replied.

"What has happened to your home? It has become, paralyzed."

"Paralyzed? What does that mean, darling?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"It's when everything remains at a standstill. Your kind is suffering from the Planet's Paralysis."

Shy Wysteria spoke up. "The Planet's Paralysis? What's that?"

"It's when time has completely stopped flowing throughout the world. The entire planet ceases to move. Winds never blow, the seasons fail to ever change, the sun never rises nor sets, it's just a world filled with unrelenting darkness. And what's the cause of it all? The cause of it is the collapse of Temporal Tower."

"Temporal Tower?" Minty asked. "I've never heard of such a place. Grovyle, what is this tower you're talking about?"

"The tower is the structure of time itself, so when it collapsed, time went out of control. It was once governed by Dialga, the legendary Pokemon of time and assisting him was Temporala."

"Who's Temporala?" questioned Pinkie Pie.

"Temporala is one of the very many legand ponies that live about this very world. She lived on the calumnious clouds high above Temporal Tower, making certain that it would remain safe. She protected it by fighting off intruders with her unicorn magic. However, one day something went terribly wrong, on a night of the full moon. She came up against some strong, dark force. She tried to stop it from bringing harm to the tower, but it was all too much. After the tower's collapse, both Dialga and Temporala transformed into their primal versions and now the both of them prevent anyone from changing history. And that is of how your planet has become this way. At this rate, if things aren't done, this world will surly end in ruin."

"Grovyle, is there any way we can stop it?" Minty asked. "There must to be some sort of solution."

"You are very correct, there is a way to save this world."

"There is? Quick! What is it?"

"Like I told you before, I am seeking a pony, as this pony is the very key of saving this world. I've recently talked with your so called Kimono and she told me the very description of this chosen pony."

"So you talked with her? What did she say? What kinds of qualities does this pony have?"

"Ah, yes. This pony is quite unlike your average earth pony and just so happens to live right here in Ponyville."

"Well spit it out already!" yelled an impatient Daisy Bloom. "What does she look like?"

"Hey, please don't rush me. I'm getting there. This pony has some very unusual qualities, unlike the lot of you. Located on her soft, light pink fur is a blue gear, otherwise known as a Time Gear."

"What's a Time Gear?" asked Sparkle Works.

"A Time Gear is a rare treasure that makes absolute certainty that time flows properly. This pony's special ability can help reveal of where these mythical gears are hidden, which is why I desperately wish to find her."

"Is that all of the description, Grovyle?" questioned Minty.

"No, that's not even all of it. She also had two blue eyes, and what was the other thing?"

"Are you able to remember, Grovyle?" Minty asked.

He managed to remember the last part of the description. "Ah, yes! I seem to recall now! Lastly, she had a glowing, blue mane!" After he had mentioned that very last line, all the ponies gasped and realized of who this pony was.

"Grovyle! I know who the chosen pony is!"

"Really? Oh, thank goodness! I've been searching for her everywhere, but I haven't had any luck! Now, who is she?"

"Her name is Rose, she's my grand daughter."

"Rose. That truly is a beautiful name. Just where is your Rose at the moment?"

"To tell you the truth, I have no clue of where she's gone! I've been extremely worried about her. She went out to take a walk earlier today, but I haven't seen her since then! I'm afraid that she's lost out there in all this darkness!"

"Not to worry," Grovyle assured her. "I'll go find her."

Minty felt relieved. "Really? Thank you, Grovyle! You truly are a big help!"

"No need to thank me. It's perfectly all right. I'll make sure she gets back here safe and sound." Grovyle quickly left town in search of Rose.

"Good luck on finding her!"


	8. The Start of a New Partnership

**Chapter 8:**

**The Start of a New Partnership**

Meanwhile, far off from Ponyville, Rose had become rather frustrated while trying to find her way home. "Great, just great!" Rose yelled to herself sarcastically. "Why did I have to go and get myself lost? I should have stayed at the castle, that's what I should have done! Because of this stupid, weird weather, it's hard to see any of Ponyville from here."

She looked around at the dark, motionless scenery, trying to figure out of what had happened to the home that she had once knew. "I just don't understand it. Why has everything suddenly turned so dark and depressing?" She gazed upon at the felid of flowers she had been standing in, and noticed how lifeless they all had became. "All these wilting flowers, it makes me feel all sad inside. I haven't even seen the sun in the sky once today. Something is definitely wrong here." Suddenly, Rose heard some sort of noise. Is was some sort of rustling, like something was coming this way. "What was that?" she yelped. "I need to get away form here!" She ran and took cover behind some huge rock.

The lone intruder approached the scene. It was Grovyle. His footsteps had been the very noise that had scared the timid, young pony. He had still been trying to track down Rose, but was starting to lose hope. He stared deeply into the dark, foggy atmosphere, hoping to find some sort of sign. "Ugh, this is hopeless. I've searched every possible place that she could be, but I have no inkling of where she is." He remembered what Midnight had said to him back at the river. "Perhaps Midnight is right. Perhaps I won't ever have a chance to change the Dark Future. Perhaps everything will remain like this forever, and history won't ever be changed. All my research, wasted. I truly thought that I had a chance to save this world, but, I guess I just wasn't thinking clearly. This darkness shall last forever. All hope is lost..."

Just then, something dazzling caught Grovyle's eye. It was a blue and green like radiance, coming from the rock Rose had hidden behind. Grovyle was stunned by the beautiful glow, as he had never seen something so breathtaking. All he had ever known was a world filled with darkness, but this gentle, blue light offered him some sort of glimmer of hope. It gave him the strength and determination to move forward. He was speechless. "What...what is this beautiful, captivating, blue light? It's like nothing I've ever seen before." He then remembered the description the wise Kimono had given him. "Wait a minute! A beautiful, blue and green like glow? That could only mean on thing! I have finally found the chosen pony! After all of my searching, I've finally found her at last!"

He raced behind the huge boulder, to find himself a trembling Rose. Lying right before him was the pony that was spoken of in the legend. He finally met her, face to face. "It is her! At long last, my searching is finally over! She's just as beautiful as the wise Kimono had described!" Rose, hearing Grovyle's joyful cries, turned around to see the scary looking dragon in front of her. She stared deeply into his two gleaming, yellow eyes.

"Ahhh! A monster!" she screamed.

"Oh, not again!" he groaned. Rose quickly stepped back away from the mysterious creature. Grovyle tried to calm down the frightened pony. "No need to be alarmed. I'm not going to hurt you, nor do anything of the sort. My name is Grovyle, I am a Pokemon, and I've been searching for you everywhere."

Rose felt somewhat surprised. Why would anyone be searching for her? After all, wasn't she the outcast of Ponyville? "You...you've been looking for me?" she finally spoke up.

"Yes, I have been searching all over for you. You are Rose, correct?"

Rose now felt more than surprised, she felt shocked! "How...how do you know my name?"

"Your grandmother informed me of it. She said she's been worried sick of you, so I insisted on coming to find you. If you are come back with me, I would gladly take you home. Once there, I will tell you the reason of why I have come to your so called Ponyville. Now come, we must return to the others." Grovyle began to set off, and stopped to wait for Rose.

She still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Who was this guy? And how could she trust him? Why did he travel to Ponyville? These were the questions that ran through Rose's mind.

Grovyle began to lose his patience. "Well? Are you coming or not?" he called hastily.

She responded to him quickly, fearing he would become even more angry. "Oh, right! Coming!"

"Good. Let's go." The two quickly set off for Ponyville.


	9. Rose's Destiny

**Chapter 9:**

**Rose's Destiny**

Grovyle managed to bring Rose back to Ponyville safely. Soon after that, Rose went up to her bedroom to get some rest. When she finished with her nap, she walked downstairs, and was shocked by what she saw. There, sitting at the table drinking tea with her grandmother, was Grovyle. He gave her a friendly wave, but Rose didn't respond back. She still didn't trust him. "Minty, what is **THAT** doing here?" Rose questioned. Grovyle, feeling insulted by her comment, ignored her and continued to sip his tea.

"Now Rose, let's not be rude to our guest, after all, he was generous enough to return you home. If he hadn't, then who knows of what horrible things would have happened to you!"

"Yes, and Minty tells me you're afraid of the dark. That might explain of why you were trembling when first I found you."

How could Minty tell that **THING** about one of Rose's biggest fears? Rose became upset over this. "Minty!" Rose yelled at her in a hushed voice. "Why did you tell him that?"

Grovyle had heard of what she had whispered to her. "Oh, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's perfectly all right. I had quite similar phobias when I was still a Treecko. While you were asleep upstairs, your grandmother told me a great deal of you."

Rose quickly realized what he had stated, and then she turned toward Minty. "Minty, what else did you tell him?"

"Well," she began. "I told him all of your little quirks, and I showed him a few of your baby pictures..." Rose became red in the face. She was clearly angered inside.

Grovyle was holding one of them in his hand, glancing at it. "Well, I have to admit it. You do make a cute baby mare." Rose quickly swiped the photo from his grip, still filled with rage.

"Look, Rose, I know that you're upset with me. And I know that you don't like it when I talk about you to other people, but, I have to this time."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"There's a big possibility that you won't be living here in Ponyville anymore."

Rose was shocked. "What? Why?"

"Please calm down, dear. I think it's best that I should leave the room and let Grovyle explain things from here."

Once she was out of sight, Grovyle turned towards Rose. He could tell that she was still upset by looking at the expression in her eyes. "Rose, what she just said was true. You won't be living here anymore."

She was still confused about the situation. "But, why? I haven't done anything wrong. I'm not being banished, am I?" Another thought came to Rose's mind. After that, she stared to get teary eyed. "Is she, is Minty getting rid of me because she doesn't love me anymore? Is it because, she's ashamed of me for being the freak of Ponyville? Does she all of a sudden hate me now?" More tears formed in her eyes.

Grovlye, being the kind hearted Pokemon like he was, hugged her, hoping to drain away her sadness. He tried his best to keep her cheerful, as things were getting rather difficult now. "Rose, everything you just stated isn't true. When I was talking with your Grandmother Minty, she spoke to me of how much she loved you. She says that you are truly special to her, and she feels very saddened inside about you leaving her behind." He let go of her and noticed of how less upset she had become.

Rose still had a hard time understanding. "But, if all that isn't true, then, why do I have to leave?"

"Rose, the very reason I traveled to Ponyville, was so I could find you."

"Find me?"

"Yes, this is because you are the very key of saving this world. Because of this, the both of us must team up, and put an end to this world of darkness."

She realized what he had just said. "Wait, so you know what's happened to Ponyville?"

"Yes," he answered. "Ponyville is experiencing the Planet's Paralysis."

Rose became lost again. "The Planet's Para-what?"

"The Planet's Paralysis. It means when everything throughout the world remains motionless. Time doesn't flow like it should, and you're able to stop it."

She started to think negatively. "What? How can I stop it? I'm just a dumb earth pony."

"Yes, you may think that, but in reality you have an ability unlike any other. The Dimensional Scream."

Rose's head started to hurt. Words like "Planet's Paralysis" and "Dimensional Scream"? She hated long words like that. "Well, what does this ability of mine do, anyway?" Rose asked.

"Because of your ability, you are capable of locate these rare treasures known as Time Gears."

"Time Gears? What are those?"

"They make sure that time flows properly throughout the world, and there is five of them in all. You also have this mythical treasure as your cutie-mark."

Rose glanced at her right hip, and finally understood. Her cutie-mark had represented her destiny all this time, her destiny to find the Time Gears with Grovyle, and to stop the Planet's Paralysis. But still, it felt all very strange to her. How could a timid earth pony such as herself be capable of saving the world, and everyone living in it? There was just no way she could do all that! She was the biggest chicken out of all the other ponies, so how could there be any hope of saving this world? There was no hope. Ponyville, and all the other areas in the world, would remain like this forever.

Grovyle looked at Rose and noticed that she had become upset once again. He felt concerned of her. "Rose, are you alright?"

Feelings of anger and negativity began to boil within her. "How do you expect me to be able to live up to such a challenging role? There's no way I could go on a journey so scary and frightening! I'm the most timid out of all the ponies here! There's no way I could save Ponyville, or the rest of the world!" Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Grovyle was rather stunned by her loud outburst. "R...Rose, I know this all very hard for you to swallow, but, you don't have a choice in the matter either way. Dusknoir has sent Midnight and his Sableye after you. If you were to remain here, you'll just get yourself killed! Primal Dialga wants the both of us gone, because we are threats to history. It would be best if you are to just do as I say, if you desire to live."

What Grovyle had now just stated only made Rose feel even worse. "Great! So not only do I have to go on this long and tiring journey with you, but there are also creatures out there that want me dead too? Why does all of this have to fall upon my shoulders?" Rose, feeling very upset about this whole situation, ran upstairs to her room to cry herself to sleep.

Very soon after that, Minty had entered the room, hoping to hear how everything went. "So," she asked. "How did she take it?"

"Not so well." he replied.

Minty felt concerned about her sweet, little Rose. "Maybe I should go talk to her."

"Yes, I think it would be best if were you to do that. I'll be waiting outside. I think it would be best if the both of us left as soon as possible."

"I understand. We'll try not to take too long." The both of them then went their separate ways.


	10. Breaking Away

**Chapter 10:**

**Breaking Away**

Once Minty arrived in Rose's bedroom, she spotted her gazing into the grey atmosphere from her balcony. "Rose," she said once approaching her. "I know this is all very hard for you to understand, but, you have to go through with this, even if you refuse to do so. I fully understand that you don't want to leave Ponyville, but you really don't have much of a choice. You are the only pony in this entire world that can save our home from this disaster. Just please try to understand, dear."

"I already told you," Rose replied. "I'm not going. I don't care if I get killed, I'm not wanted in this world anyway."

Minty tried her best to change her grand daughter's feelings of negativity, but this did no good. "Rose, you are wanted in this world. You are the chosen pony who can save us all!"

"How do you know I'm the chosen pony?" she asked. "There could be other ponies out there who could save Ponyville much better than I ever could. This was all just a mistake."

"Rose, this isn't a mistake. The description that Grovyle stated made it all very clear that you're the only pony who could save this world by stopping the Planet's Paralysis! You're only caring about yourself, and your needs. You need to think about all of the other ponies out there who are suffering from this horrible crises. Do you want Ponyville to stay like this forever?"

"Quite talking to me like that!" Rose yelled. "You're just making me feel guilty about the whole thing! Why should I even bother to save them when all they did was make fun of me? After all, they do deserve it for treating me differently! I hope that they all starve to death!"

Minty was hurt by what she had said, but still refused to leave. "Rose, you just need to put all that behind you, and leave with Grovyle so you two can save this world."

"And that's another thing! Grovyle, I can't trust him! I just can't! How do I even know if he's a good person or not? How do I know he won't try to hurt me or anything? Gaining his trust is something I just can't do..."

"Rose, Grovyle is a truly kind and intelligent Pokemon. When I was talking with him, he vowed to me that he would take absolute care of you. Someone so noble and gentle as him just wouldn't have the heart to do something so horrible or vile. You can't just judge someone when you don't even know their personality. Once you get to know him better, you may learn to appreciate him a little more. He might even be the special someone you've been longing for, dear. You just need to give him a chance."

Rose pondered over this for a bit. Could this **THING **actually be her soulmate? Not likely. There's just no way. But still, she had to admit it, maybe Minty was right. Maybe she should give Grovyle a chance, just to be fair. And like she had also mentioned, Grovyle promised to take care of her. She managed to recall to herself when he first found her, herself hiding in the darkness. He didn't seem like an evil Pokemon, but then again, he could have been hiding his true intentions. After thinking it over some more, Rose realized something. Weather he was evil or not, she didn't have much of a choice. She had to pin her hopes on this **THING**!

She also thought about the other thing her grandmother had mentioned. All living things in this world were suffering from this Planet's Paralysis type deal that Grovyle often spoke of. It has caused great difficulty for everyone, and Rose had to admit, she had began to miss the bright and cheerful Ponyville she had once known. She also began to think that maybe if she helped stop this crises, people would consider her as a hero. Maybe when she returned, Daisy Bloom and the others wouldn't poke fun at her anymore. No one would ever treat her differently ever again! Ok! That settled it! Rose now had a reason to go!

"Ok, Minty," she finally replied. "I'll go!"

Minty felt overjoyed to hear such words. "What a relief! I was almost about to lose all hope! You should get some sleep before you head out with Grovyle, and don't forget to pack your things before doing so!"

"Ok! I'll go do that!" she replied. Once her grandmother had left the room, Rose gathered up her things into a small, portable bag, and then went straight to bed.

A few hours later, she awoke, ready to see to her mission. When she arrived downstairs, there she found Minty, and alongside of her was Grovyle. "So, Rose," he said. "I assume that you're well prepared for this long journey, because it may be rather difficult one. Are you certain that you're up to it?"

"Of course I am," she replied, being somewhat positive. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Just thought I'd check." he answered.

Rose couldn't help but feel nervous about this whole thing. She wasn't too sure herself of what was ahead of her, and she also felt rather sad about leaving Minty behind. But once she returned, it would be all good. The three of them headed outside the castle. "Well," Grovlye said to Rose's weeping grandmother. "I guess this is it. It's time for us to bid farewell to this place." He began to set off, but stopped once he realized Rose wasn't following him. "Come now, Rose! We mustn't waste any time!"

Rose felt tears form in her eyes. It was finally time for her to leave Ponyville, and Minty, behind. She quickly ran toward her saddened grandmother and squeezed her tightly. Grovyle eventually had to pry Rose off of her, since his patience was getting to the best of him. After many tears and sobs, the two of them were finally able to leave, not looking back.


	11. Midnight's Arrival

**Chapter 11:**

**Midnight's Arrival**

A little while after Grovyle and Rose's departure, Midnight and the Sableye finally arrived in Ponyville. She noticed the dark and dreary atmosphere, and looked rather pleased of it. "I'm liking this new Ponyville already! A little bit of darkness adds a nice touch to the place!" She then turned her minions. "What do you think of it, guys?"

One of the Sableye answered her. "It sure looks dark and dreadful!"

"It's just the way we like it!" another one added.

"I'm glad we all share the same opinion!" Midnight replied. "It's perfect for us! It looks so much better now that all those gay rainbows and flowers are gone! And since it's just the way I like it, I was thinking about spending a nice evening here with Lord Dusknoir!" She thought for a moment, and then sighed. "If he has any time, that is..."

You see, Midnight had true feelings for Dusknoir. She really wanted to tell him of how she felt, but she wasn't sure how he would react. The reason Dusknoir agreed to work for Primal Dialga in the first place was so he wouldn't disappear. You see, if the future were to be changed, all Pokemon living in it would vanish in thin air, and their spirits would drift away. The first time she met him, she instantly fell in love with him. This was on of the reasons she agreed to work for him. The other reason was that she too didn't want to disappear. The thought of disappearing is something the both of them just couldn't seem to bare. They just simply couldn't allow it to happen.

Midnight's group continued on their way, and stopped once they approached Ponyville's town center. The ponies walking about began to notice the unusual guests that had came upon their home. The ponies who saw them quickly alerted the others, and the alerted ponies dashed outside to catch a glimpse of them. Midnight then quickly ordered the Sableye to surround the unaware bunch so that they couldn't escape. No matter what the ponies did, they couldn't allude the group of Sabyle surrounding them. They were trapped.

"What's going on?" asked Cotton Candy, who was rather puzzled about the whole situation.

"Who are you?" questioned Spike.

"All right you good for nothing ponies!" Midnight yelled. "One of you pathetic, weak creatures is the chosen pony! And I'm not leaving until she is in my possession! You might as well just give in and reveal her to me! You have no chance of winning!"

The ponies just looked around at each other, not knowing of what to do. Cotton Candy spoke up once more. "I'd hate to break it to you, but none of us are the chosen pony!"

"Don't be coy with me!" she growled. "One of you is the pony in the ancient legend, and I'm not letting you poor excuses of ponies go until I have her with me!"

"Cotton Candy's right." Pinkie Pie said. "None of us are the pony you're looking for."

"Shut it, pink!" Midnight replied. "There's no point in hiding the truth! We have ways of making you talk!"

The leading Sableye spoke up. "Now are you going to be good, little ponies and tell us the truth? Or are we going to have to kill some of your worthless friends to get you to spill of were she is?" The ponies gasped. They would be killed if they didn't give up the chosen pony? This was horrible news for them! Things seemed pretty hopeless...

Minty had been listening to the commotion taking place in the middle of town. Grovyle had mentioned Midnight and the Sableye to her when they were making conversation that one time. She quickly rushed out of the castle to save her beloved friends.

"You're out of luck, Midnight!" she called. "The pony you've been searching for has fled from here already!"

"What do you mean?" Midnight snarled.

"She's left with Grovyle, so they can put an end to this Dark Future once and for all!"

Midnight became enraged. "What? He's with her? How in the bloody hell did he find out?" She was so furious, she unleashed a powerful dark pulse that headed straight toward the mint green pony. Minty shielded her eyes, knowing she was most certainly done for.

Just then, the unexpected happened. Kimono sprinted out in front of her, using her own body as a shield to save her close friend. Kimono fell to the ground in pain, as she had developed many injuries when she was hit by Midnight's attack. Midnight was shocked. "What the hell? Blast! You got in the way!" Even though she was hurt severely, Kimono managed to speak up.

"Mid...Midnight, you and Dusknoir will never win this bloody war. Grovyle and Rose will stop you." After saying those last few words, Kimono passed out.

Midnight, still being rather pissed off, decided it was time to retreat back to Temporal Tower. "Come on, you Sableye! Back to Temporal Tower! Master Dusknoir will not be pleased!" The lot of them then headed off, leaving the shocked and horrified ponies behind them.

"Will Kimono be all right, Minty?" asked a concerned Sweet Berry.

"No need to worry, Sweet Berry. With some rest, and a little first aid, Kimono will be fine."

"Well, darling, that's a relief!" replied Rainbow Dash. " At first I thought we were going to lose are darling Kimono forever, but now I feel glad that she's going to be alright!"

"I'm glad too." Minty replied.

"But what do we do now?" questioned Sweet Berry.

"It's none of our concern." answered Minty. "This is Grovyle and Rose's burden now."


	12. The Dimensional Scream

**Chapter 12:**

**The Dimensional Scream**

Meanwhile, far off from Ponyville, Grovyle and Rose were on their way to meet up with Celebi. They had been walking for quite some time, and Rose had began to feel exhausted from it all. "Grovyle, how much longer until we get there?" she asked while trying to catch her breath.

"Just a little bit longer." he replied. "We still have quite a bit more traveling to do."

"But I can't walk any longer!" Rose whined. "My hoofs are killing me! I have to stop and rest!" She plopped herself down onto the ground, feeling much better. Grovyle became upset over her childish ways. He wasn't about to let some pony hold him back from his goal.

"I'll drag you there if I have to!" he yelled at her hastily. "There's no time to rest! We must keep moving!"

"But can't we just wait until tomorrow?" Rose insisted. "We've been walking for hours. Couldn't we just call it a day and continue on in the morning?"

Grovyle just stared at her blankly. Didn't she know that morning never came? Wasn't she aware that not a single ray of sunlight shined on this gray, dull Earth? He decided to tell her of it.

"I'm sorry to say this, but, morning never comes."

Rose felt shocked to hear him utter such a statement. "What? Why?"

"Since time doesn't flow, the sun neither rises nor sets, so it's useless to rest up and wait until tomorrow. Now come, we haven't the time to dawdle. Let's just continue on now, shall we?" Reluctantly, Rose rose up off the ground and followed Grovyle.

About an hour or so later, the two of them finally reached the cottage. Rose stared at the small, upbeat structure. Who would want to live in such a place? Certainly not her. It probably was infested with all sorts of pests, and the inside could've been covered in all kinds of dirt and dust. The cottage itself looked rather poor to her, compared to her home back in Ponyville.

"It looks rather small." she replied.

"It may seem that way to you, but it's home to me. I've lived here as long as I can remember. I know it isn't as fancy like a castle or anything, but you'll just have to adapt to it. This is where you will be living for the time being, along with me and Celebi."

"Hey, Grovyle, you've never really told me much about Celebi. What's she like?"

"She's rather cheerful most of the time, and well, she's a little odd."

"Odd?" Rose asked. "Why do you say that, Grovyle?"

"Oh, just forget it." he replied as he approached the small, wooden door.

He banged on it loudly with is fist, hoping for a reply from her. "Celebi! It's me, Grovyle! I have returned with great news!"

Celebi answered the door, feeling relieved to see that he was safe and sound. "There you are, Grovyle!" she cried joyfully. Where have you been? I've been super worried about you!" She squeezed him tightly, feeling very happy to see him.

Grovyle's face turned a bright red. Rose just giggled at the red-faced Pokemon. He felt rather embarrassed, having Rose see him being hugged like this. He had to act fast. "Um, Celebi, I think that's quite enough hugging for one day." Grovyle said as he yanked her off of him.

"Oh, sorry! It's just that I missed you so much!" Celebi soon realized she the two of them weren't alone.

"Oh? Who's your friend, Grovyle?"

"Celebi, this is Rose, an earth pony I found living in Ponyville. Apparently darkness has set in her home as well. I would be best if we continued this conservation inside."

"Yes, you are very right, Grovyle." The three of them entered the cottage, entering a somewhat small and cozy room.

"So Grovyle, what's your reason for bringing this pony into our home?"

"My reason is this. Rose is the solution we've been searching for."

"What do you mean by that statement?" Celebi questioned.

"You see, Rose has...Wait! Where'd she go?" He quickly spotted her by his bookshelf, glancing at a huge stack of papers.

"What's all this?" she wondered curiously.

"Hey! Don't touch those!" Grovyle scolded. "That's all my research over the Planet's Paralysis!"

Rose, who wasn't listening, tapped the stack of papers, which caused all of his written research to fall onto the floor.

"Opps! Sorry!" she replied. He had began to lose his temper, but shook it all away, knowing that Rose didn't mean it.

"You were saying?" Celebi asked.

"Rose has this ability known as the Dimensional Scream."

"Dimensional Scream? What does this ability of hers do?"

"It is able to locate the Time Gears, but, that's all I know of it so far. I'm sure there's some book around here that will provide us with more information of Rose's ability." Grovyle walked over to his bookshelf, where Rose was still standing, and scanned through it until he came across the piece of ligature he was looking for.

"Ah, ha! Here it is!" he called as he wiped off the layers of dust that covered it. The front of the book read: "Special abilities." Grovyle opened it, and then began flipping through its many pages until he came across the page that held information of Rose's ability. "Here it is! Rose's ability! The Dimensional Scream!"

Rose and Celebi quickly rushed over to him, wanting to know what information it provided. "What does it say?" Rose asked, feeling curious and excited at the same time.

"Hang on! Don't rush me!" he replied with a hasty tone.

"I'm sorry!" she answered. "It's just that I'm dying to learn more about my ability!"

Grovyle then began to read the information that was in front of him, trying to understand of what it meant. After reading over it some more, he finally got his answer.

"It says that the ability is triggered when the user touches something or someone."

"Really?" asked Rose.

"Yes, but it only works when the object being touched is linked to a Time Gear's location. Touching anything that's unrelated to these locations is pretty much pointless since the ability will cease to work. A trusted Pokemon partner must also be present alongside with the user, if not, the ability will fail to be triggered."

"Is that all?" she questioned.

"I believe so," he replied. "Now all we have to do is trigger a vision." Grovyle turned toward Rose, staring her down.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, feeling uneasy.

Very suddenly, he quickly hit Rose's shoulder with great force. "Ow!" she cried. "What was that for?"

Grovyle, using his own judgment, assumed that his tactic to trigger a vision had not worked like he had intended. "I don't understand it. Why did it fail to work? Surely it's because I'm not hitting her hard enough." Grovyle hit Rose again, this time more powerful than the last. Her shoulder began to sting, and tears formed in her eyes.

"Owww! Grovyle, please stop this!" she wailed.

"Quit your crying!" he yelled at her hastily. Grovyle than began to charge up some sort of ball of energy between his hands.

Celebi realized of what it was that he was doing. "My dear Grovyle, please don't do anything rash! You know how I don't like it when you use your move energy ball in the house!"

He ignored Celebi's advice, and aimed the attack at Rose. Once she realized this, she quickly jumped out of the way, which caused his crackling ball of energy to hit an old easy chair. This made the raptor even more furious!

"Grrhaaaaaa!" he yelled. Grovyle had become really impatient by the fact of Rose failing to have any visions. He then began to charge up a powerful leaf blade attack intended for the pony, which made her feel rather frightened. Celebi, however, had seen enough.

"Grovyle! Stop this childish nonsense at once!" she yelled as she blocked Rose from his attack. "The more you'll try to trigger a vision, the more you'll hurt the poor creature! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Grovyle realized of what he had done, and felt bad about it. How could he hurt such a poor, delicate and innocent creature? It was something that he just couldn't bare to do. He didn't think before he acted, which made him feel absolutely horrible. Grovyle didn't want to become evil and twisted like the rest Pokemon of the Dark Future. He wanted to be good, and he wanted to change the darkness. He then turned his full attention to Rose, and looked at her with sincere, yellow eyes.

"Rose, I'm so very sorry about this whole thing. I wasn't thinking clearly. It was hard to do so with so much anger and impatience building up inside of me. I wasn't thinking about anyone other than myself. I am truly sorry."

Rose looked at him with her light blue eyes, and decided to forgive him. She didn't understand of what had caused her to do this. Some feeling inside of her just urged her to. "I forgive you, Grovyle." she replied. "I know that you didn't really mean to hurt me."

Grovyle still didn't understand it. Why didn't Rose's ability go off when he hit her? What had he failed to understand? "But Celebi," Grovyle said. "Why is it that the Dimensional Scream is refusing to work?"

"The reason, my dear Grovyle, is because you two don't completely trust one another yet. The description said that a trusted Pokemon partner is needed for the ability to work."

"Then, how do we get it to work?" he replied.

"What I suggest to you, my dear Grovyle, is that you and Rose spend more time together, so that the two of you can learn to trust each other better. Remember, trust is a must."

Grovyle knew what Celebi had stated was the right solution. He had to learn to gain Rose's trust, as well as she needed to learn to trust him. "Ok, that settles it." he finally said. "After some resting, Rose and I are will go bond with eachother, weather we like it or not. I suggest the lot of us should get some sleep, that way, we will be well rested when the new day emerges."

"Where do I sleep?" Rose asked curiously. The thought of that hadn't crossed Grovyle's mind, there were only two beds. After thinking it over, he finally figured out what had to be done.

"Rose, you can sleep in my bed. I'll just rest in a tree outside."

She felt surprised by Grovyle's kind offer. "Well, Grovyle, you don't have to give up your bed for me if you don't want to."

He disagreed with her statement. "No, I insist. I wouldn't want you to have to sleep on the cold, filthy floor. And besides, my kind are very well adapted to the trees. It's perfectly all right."

"Well, Ok then. Thanks, Grovyle."

"You are most very welcome." Grovyle replied as he headed for the door. "Well, I wish you all a good night!" He soon descended from the room, leaving the two girls behind. Everything became quiet as they all drifted off to sleep.


	13. Trust

**Chapter 13:**

**Trust**

After a few hours of sleep, Grovyle was up and awake, ready to get this bonding thing over with. He really wasn't too enthusiastic of it, since it cut into his valuable, precious time to track down the Time Gears. Grovyle jumped off the tree branch he had been relaxing on, and entered the cottage so he could go alert Rose, wanting to let her know he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

He approached her bedside, and gently tapped on her soft, pink fur, hoping that she would awake. It failed to work. Rose still laid there peacefully, lost in her dreams. This very sight distracted Grovyle, which made him not wanting to awake such a small and delicate creature. However, he got through the feeling, and then tried to wake her up again, this time, shaking her awake. Grovyle had a tone of hastiness in his voice. "Rose! Please awake! You've wasted enough of my time laying around in my nice, warm bed! The time has come for us to bond with each other, so I may gain access to your Dimensional Scream! So get up!"

Rose awoke, seeing his frustrated expression. She didn't like to be woken up like this in the morning, it was something that she just wasn't use to. "Grovyle...please..." Rose murmured. "Just let me have a couple more minutes of sleep..."

While she continued to doze, Grovyle had had enough of her stubbornness. He didn't have the time to deal with her behavior, it was just something he couldn't tolerate. "Fine! If that's the way you want it!" Grovyle snarled. He then took a wooden bucket and dashed outside. Once outside the cottage, he located a nearby river, which was filled with cold, flowing water. He filled up the bucket and ran back inside. When Grovyle returned to the sleeping Rose, he dumped the water on top of her, causing her to quickly awake from her slumber. She shivered, her blue mane all wet, and then yelled, "Grovyle! I hate you! Why'd you even do that?"

"Why did I do that?" he replied. "You refused to get up, ignoring my orders."

Rose was stunned by his last remark. "Orders? You can't give me orders! Only Minty, and my parents can! I'm not your daughter you know, and it's not like you'd ever have a kid of your own!"

Grovyle became rather insulted by her last remark. "You take that back! I very well could if I wanted, it's just that I haven't found that special someone yet! Either way, it's useless to me! I do in fact have the right to order you around! Since Minty, nor your parents are present, I am your official guardian! Weather you like it or not, you are to listen to me, as well as respect me! This is day one, so get used to it!" He stormed out of the room and into the outdoors. Rose just stared at his turned body sourly, water still dripping from her hair.

Getting over her anger towards Grovyle, she eventually followed him, and they both came to a stop at a grassy meadow. Rose took a deep breath, getting some fresh air into her system. Even though the meadow was somewhat taken over by the darkness, she found it's scenery to be rather pleasant and relaxing. Rose wondered if Grovyle would let her take a break here so she could unwind for a bit, but she had her doubts. More then likely, he wouldn't approve of it, because of his impatient ways, plus his hasty attitude. Rose just hated that about him.

Rose spotted Grovye lying on an old tree branch, obviously not wanting to have anything to do with her. He still held a grudge about what had happened between them earlier, and how she had insulted him straight to his face. Rose gulped as she approached the tall oak, feeling nervous about reasoning with the creature.

"Hey, Grovyle," Rose asked. "Is it Ok with you if we stop here, and take a break for a little bit?"

Grovyle looked at her, and then replied, "Whatever. As long as you don't bug me, as I just wish to have some peace and quiet, that's all I want. Now go on and leave me alone."

"Fine, if that's the way you want it!" she replied, walking away from the tree he was relaxing in.

Hadn't he forgotten that he was supposed to be bonding with her? Humph. Some partner he turned out to be. He was only caring for himself instead of her. Didn't he care for her just a little bit? Rose doubted it, there's just no way someone so hasty as Grovyle could possess such a feeling.

Rose continued walking onward, and was somewhat surprised about how she had not been looking where she was going. She had stepped off of the steep cliff of the meadow, and now it left her dangling from a branch that had grown off the side of the cliff. Rose gulped once she realized that right below her was a fast, flowing river. She knew if she were to let go, death would surly follow. Rose began to cry for help. "Grovyle, help me!"

Grovyle, who was still lazily lying in the tree, heard her piercing cries. "Huh? What was that?" he wondered.

"Grovyle!" she yelled again. "Help me!"

Grovyle looked around the meadow, noticing that the blue maned pony was nowhere in sight. "Rose? Is that you?" he called. What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on!" the pony replied. "I'm hanging on to a branch on the side of a cliff, over a powerful river, and if I let go, I'll surly die!"

"Rose is in danger?" Grovyle yelled under his breath. He didn't know what he'd do if Rose were to be killed, he just couldn't bear to see it happen! "Hang on, Rose!" he called. "I'm coming to your rescue!"

He dashed over to the meadow's sharp edge, spotting Rose holding onto the branch for her life. "On second thought," Rose replied, having her doubts. "I'll just save myself! I think I'm able!"

"Are you crazy?" Grovyle yelled back. "There's no way you could possibly do that! If you were to try to scale this jagged formation, you'll surly slip and fall straight into the river! I just can't let that happen! I'd be best if I helped you so you may get out of this mess alive! Just trust me on this!"

He held out his hand, hoping she'd grab on to it with no arguments. "I just can't do this!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. "How do I know you won't drop me?"

"I know for certainty I won't!" the Pokemon replied. "You just have to trust me! Rose, don't you trust me?"

Taking a risk, she grabbed ahold of his hand, and then had Grovyle pull her up. The noble grass type used all his strength, and then sprung back onto his backside after he'd successfully gotten Rose back on top of the meadow. The pony had landed on top of him, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, Grovyle!" she cried as she clung ahold of him with tears streaming from her eyes. "You've saved me from near death! I don't know how I'd ever be able repay you, and I won't ever forget this!"

"Don't mention it," Grovyle replied, prying her off of him. "All you needed to do was just have some faith in me, and because you did, I was able to save you in the nick of time. Maybe now you'll learn to trust me a little more, and that you should never wander off. Doing so will only get you into troublesome situations. From now on, you are to stay with me, and never stray from my side. Is that understood?"

Rose nodded most agreeably, not wanting to go through another terrifying experience. "Ok, Grovyle," she replied, feeling a lot better. "I won't."

The Pokemon responded with a smile, and then said, "So, shall we head back to Celebi?"

"Sure! I'm all set to go!" The two of them then left the meadow, walking hand-in-hand.


	14. The Vision

**Chapter 14:**

**The Vision**

Grovyle and Rose approached the cottage, arriving to find Celebi who had been waiting for them. She hadn't been present the following morning, instead, she had been in Treeshroud Forest, collecting Oren berries.

"Hello, my dear Grovyle! Hello Rose!" the Pokemon greeted them cheerfully.

"Hello, Celebi." Grovyle replied, acting like the well mannered Pokemon he was. "What is it that you have there?"

"Oran berries!" the pink Pokemon replied happily. "I spent a long time gathering some while you two were out, and I figured that the two of you would be hungry upon your return! Please do feel free to help yourselves, tee-hee!"

"I'd like to have some!" Rose replied, grabbing a few from the wooden bowl that Celebi was holding. The pony hadn't eaten anything yesterday, mainly because Grovyle had been too impatient to let them stop to find a decent meal. Rose had only been used to Rainbow berries, but never any kinds of berries such as these. She wondered what they tasted like, hoping that they didn't taste unpleasant. The pony didn't care about it either way, just as long as she ate something that would crave that vicious sounding stomach of hers.

Rose bravely took a bite of the Oren berry, and was very surprised to find out that the taste of it was rather pleasant. "Hey! These are actually pretty good!" the pony remarked happily.

"I'm glad you like them, tee-hee!" Celebi replied, feeling appreciated. "Would you care for some, Grovyle?" she asked, turning towards the raptor.

"No, no," the nobel Pokemon replied. "I'm perfectly fine. You two can just enjoy them amongst yourselves, I on the other hand don't feel the slightest bit hungry at the moment."

The small, pink Pokemon felt rather crestfallen by Grovyle's response, since he was the very reason she collected the berries in the first place. "Oh, Ok..." she replied, her heart becoming a bit crushed by his rejection.

Rose, who wasn't yet full, helped herself to another Oren berry, which tasted somewhat sweet when she bit down into it. "These things could beat Rainbow berries any day..." the blue maned pony claimed happily, but suddenly...

Rose began to feel a bit dizzy, causing her to close her eyes because the head ache was just far too agonizing. She then saw a blur of white light speed past her, as if it was reveling some sort of image. The pony caught a glimpse of some sort of blue gear, one that look exactly like her cutie-mark. "That's it! It's here! It's here!" a mysterious voice called out to her. Rose quickly broke out of the trance, feeling shocked by what had just occurred. She then turned to the two Pokemon, who's faces gave off some rather puzzled looks.

"Rose?" Grovyle asked. "Are you feeling alright? You seemed to be off to yourself for a bit there, as if you dreamt something. Why is that?"

"Maybe she just ate a bad Oren berry," Celebi suggested.

"I don't think that's very likely," the raptor stated. "There must be another reason behind all of this. Alright, Rose, would you care to tell us of what happened?"

"Well," the pony began. "After I ate this berry, I encountered this weird, dizzy feeling..."

Grovyle cut her off. "Ah, interesting. A strange, dizzy feeling? Please, do go on."

"After I shut my eyes," Rose continued. "I saw this flash of white light, and then some sort of vision came to me."

"Oh, really? A vision?" the nobel Pokemon replied rather curiously. "What is it that you saw in this vision of yours?"

"I saw this blue colored gear, and then some voice called out to me. I don't know who's voice it was, though..."

"No, no, that's perfectly fine." Grovyle replied. "It doesn't matter who's voice it was, all that matters is what the voice said. By the way, did you say you saw a blue gear? Perhaps it's possible it could be a Time Gear, then again, it very well could be something else." The raptor got back on track. "So, what did this voice say? Have you any inkling of it at all?"

Rose thought hard, trying to remember what the strange voice had said. After much thought, it came to her. "I remember now! It was something like this: That's it! It's here! It's here!"

"Amazing!" Grovyle spoke, fascinated by what the pony had saw. "And to think you saw all of that? It's incredible, but why were you able to see such a thing? That is what we don't know."

"Grovyle," Celebi said. "Maybe it's possible Rose experienced a Dimensional Scream, you know, that special ability she has?"

"Of course!" the Pokemon realized. "It all makes perfect sense! Perhaps after I saved Rose from near death, we developed some sort of trust between us. Which means, we triggered a vision!" Grovyle felt so happy, he hugged the pony rather tightly, feeling excited that his life long dream was finally coming true. But his happiness soon went away once something came to him, causing him to release the pony from his warm embrace. "But, we have not an inkling of where this Time Gear could be..."

Celebi recalled something about the Dimensional Scream, of how it only worked if the user touched something that was related to a Time Gear's location. "Let's not lose hope, my dear Grovyle, because I think I have an idea of where this Time Gear's hidden."

The nobel Pokemon became rather excited over the pink Pokemon's statement. "Really? You do, Celebi? Where is it that this Time Gear is hidden?"

"Well, since I got these berries from Treeshroud Forest, and that Rose ate one, I suggest that the two of you should go and search for the Time Gear there. I have a pretty good feeling that you'll find it that forest."

"Of course! I'm starting to remember now!" Grovyle exclaimed. "The object the user touches must somehow be related to the location of the Time Gear itself. In this case, since the berries came from the Treeshroud Forest, and that Rose had a vision when she ate one of them, then Treeshroud Forest must be of where this Time Gear is located! There's no doubt about, as I am certain of it!"

"I think I'm starting to understand how my ability works, Grovyle." Rose replied, feeling aware of how her ability triggers.

"That's good to hear," he replied. "It's good to know you have some sort of understandence of all this. It makes things a whole lot easier on me." The raptor smiled at her, and soon began walking towards the door.

"Hey, Grovyle," Rose asked. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to rest up for a bit," the Pokemon replied. "I want to have enough energy when exploring Treeshroud Forest, since it is a rather large dungeon."

"Oh, Ok." Rose said. "I'll just wait here then, if that's all right with you." The pony felt somewhat surprised that Grovyle hadn't insisted on getting the Time Gear right away. Perhaps this was a sign of him changing his impatient ways, then again, he might just want to get some sleep.

"It's alright with me, just don't wonder off while I'm gone, or there will be big trouble for you! I'll be seeing you!" The raptor then left to get some well earned rest, while Rose waited with Celebi until his return.


	15. Traveling Through Treeshroud Forest

**Chapter 15:**

**Traveling Through Treeshroud Forest**

"**WHAT**?" Dusknoir screamed angrily. "She escaped with Grovyle?"

"Yes, I know you're very mad, master," Midnight apologized. "But I can assure you, I did not intend for this to happen. I thought for certain I had killed Grovyle when I was back at the river. I have no clue of what went wrong."

"I just don't understand of how that idiotic raptor managed to learn of her." the ghost stated. "Weren't we the only ones to know of her?"

"Even though I'm not too sure, I have a feeling that Kimono must have told him." The winged unicorn then become more enraged by just thinking of the wise pony. "Curse that Kimono! She's ruining everything!"

"Great! Now isn't this just dandy!" Dusknoir exclaimed sarcastically. "Now we have to come up with a plan to capture the two of them, along with Celebi! But how?"

"I'll search from the skies, so I may try and locate them." Midnight suggested. "I have a good feeling that they may be one their way to a Time Gear."

"Yes, you might be on to something, Midnight," Dusknoir agreed. "They could very well be doing just that at this very moment. You may go find them as you wish, but be sure to take the Sableye along with you."

"I hear you, my lord." she said, with a bow. "I won't fail you this time." Midnight then exited the crumbled structure, the Sableye at her heels.

Meanwhile, with our heros, Grovyle and Rose were now just heading out for Treeshroud Forest, on their way to find the first of the Time Gears. The both of them were well rested for their search.

"Take care!" Celebi called out to them. "Good luck to the both of you for finding the Time Gears!"

"Farewell, Celebi," the noble Pokemon responded. "Rose and I will meet back up with you once we retrieve all five of Time Gears. Hopefully, it won't take too long!"

"Ok!" the cheery Pokemon replied. "I'll try to get the Passage of Time set up before then!"

"Passage of Time?" Rose asked, walking alongside the raptor.

"Yes," her partner answered. "The Passage of Time. Celebi has the incredible ability to travel through time, and she must use this so called passage whenever she isn't time traveling all by herself."

The pony was blown away by this. "Wow! Really?"

"Quiet!" Grovyle replied, feeling rather annoyed. "Must you always talk so loudly? Someone might very well hear you!"

"Sorry," Rose whispered. "This is just all so new to me. It's not easy taking all this stuff in, you know! I mean, things like time travel? I never even knew things like that were even possible!"

"I know it is all so very hard for you to believe," Grovyle answered. "But you just have to learn of how to accept it. With your ability, and the use of my sly and cunning ways, we could very well put an end to this reign of darkness once and for all!"

"Ok," the blue maned pony answered. "If you say so..."

The two of them soon arrived at the forest's entrance, which looked rather scary and intimidating. Rose gulped, as she was scared of dark places such as this.

"Well, this is the place." the raptor spoke. "Deep within these forest depths, lies a Time Gear."

"Through th...there?" she spoke rather shaken.

"Yes, through there!" he answered hastily and rather annoyed as well. "Now, come on!" The Pokemon then began walking towards the darkened entrance, hoping that Rose would soon follow.

"Couldn't I just stay here?" the timid pony asked, hoping that he'd respond with a yes.

"It's either the forest or the Sableye," Grovyle replied. "Your choice."

Rose sighed, deciding to follow the Pokemon, as she didn't feel like dying any time soon. They started venturing their way through the forest's depths, it being as dark as night. Rose felt like a million sets of eyes were watching her, making the pony feel very uncomfortable. She had never seen such a frightening place her entire life. Grovyle didn't seem to mind this, as he was very used to such places. Very suddenly, high pitch screams filled the air, as Rose had startled a flock of Golbats. "Ahhhaaaaa! Get me out of here!" she cried, clinging to the raptor.

"Let go of me!" he yelled, pushing her aside.

"I **WANT** to go **HOME**!" the pony wailed, tears in her eyes. The pony then began running in the opposite direction, but was soon stopped once Grovyle got ahold of her shimmering tail.

"Absolutely not!" he hastily replied, pulling her back. "I have a mission to complete, and I'm not about to let some pony screw it up for me!"

"But dark places frighten me!" Rose cried.

"Well, too bad!" the raptor answered. "You'll just have to suck it up, as you are not a kid anymore! As long as you're with me, you're going to do exactly as I say! Got it? Now quit your sobbing and move it!"

They soon began to move again. The pony sniffled, drying the tears from her eyes and asked, "How do you even know where you're going?"

"Because I just do!" the Pokemon snarled. "I know what I'm doing, and it's not like **YOU** could do any better!"

"I very well could!" Rose snapped. "I bet I could do it ten times better than you!"

"Heh, I'd love to see you try..." Grovyle chuckled.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" she angrily demanded.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you earth ponies aren't exactly too bright..." the raptor remarked, soon realizing that stating this was a big mistake on his part.

"**WHAT**?" the pony cried angrily.

"Oh, crap..." the Pokemon remarked softly, he being slugged in the face by Rose's hoof.

"Ha!" she laughed, Grovyle now lying on the ground. "Pretty humiliating getting hit by a girl, right?"

The raptor wasn't just mad, he was furious! Upon getting back to his feet, he lunged at Rose, attacking her with a sharp, swift leaf blade attack, doing this to show that he was the boss over her. The pony had fallen to the ground, a bloody gash on her right side. The Pokemon looked in horror of what he had done, looking at his green leaves which were now soaked with blood. Rose's Blood. What had he done? What had caused him to attack her so viciously? Was it because of the anger and rage that had taken over him? Apparently so. Seeing the shaken pony, Grovyle tried to help her up, but was immediately pushed away by her. "Don't touch me!" she cried. "Haven't you hurt me enough already? Just leave me alone!"

Suddenly, the pony and Pokemon heard a rustle coming from the bushes, as well as a faint growling. Just then, a wild Ninetales sprung out at them and it was hungry! Hungry for Rose! Doing the right thing, the raptor decided to protect her from the fiery beast. Grovyle began his strategy by digging his way underground, planning to take the Ninetales by surprise. But upon springing up, he missed and was then hit by a powerful flamethrower attack. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" the raptor screamed in pain, collapsing to the ground.

"Grovyle!" Rose cried, hoping that he would be Ok. Upon the Ninetales's approach to her, the pony sprung to her feet, picking up a small, jagged rock. "Go away!" she yelled, trowing the hard rock at the horrid creature. The Ninetales yelped upon contact with it, but still refused to leave. "I said go away!" the pony yelled again, trowing yet another rock at it, this one being much harder than the last one. Because of the pony's defensive strategy, the Pokemon fled, leaving her alone with the unconscious reptile. Rose immediately rushed to the wounded Grovyle's side, looking him over. He was rather burnt, but not severely. The pony knew that it wouldn't be right to just leave him here, so she picked the Pokemon up, and placed him onto her back. "Man, you're heavy!" she groaned, but continued on walking anyway.

As she traveled throughout the darkened forest some more, with Grovyle piled on her backside, Rose came across a good resting place. The pony then began setting up camp, placing her wounded friend on a cozy bed she had made for him out of a different assortment of leaves and grasses. She rubbed two sticks together and made a fire, and created a bed for herself as well.

The raptor regained consciousness just as the pony had finished with her work, he observing the scenery that was around him. Rose, haven taken noticed that he had awoke, quickly approached him. "You're awake! That's a relief!"

"Wh...where am I?" Grovyle asked, rubbing his head with his palm.

"Camp," she answered. "I set it up while you were still zoinked out."

"I was zoinked out?" the Pokemon asked, groaning a bit. "Wh...what happened?"

"A wild Ninetales took you out, but I chased it away." the pony explained.

"I was defeated? I find that all very hard to believe." he replied.

"Well, you can say whatever you'd like," Rose said. "But, the point being, I did in fact save you." The pony then looked him over and asked, "So, how are you feeling? Do you feel like you're in any kind of pain, anywhere at all?"

"My injuries do sting quite a bit." Grovyle admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ok, I know just the thing." the pony answered, leaving the raptor to go fetch something. Upon her return, she came back with some Oran berries, showing them to him. "I saved some of these for you, you know, when we were back at the cottage with Celebi? I figured we'd need some in times like this." Handing one to the Pokemon, Rose said, "You need them much more than I do, so go on and help yourself, it's alright." Sniffing it, while thinking of the pony's kind offer, Grovyle took a bite of the Oran berry, his injuries slowly healing from it. The pony smiled warmly at him, and returned to her place by the fire.

The raptor felt truly lucky to have a partner such as Rose to take care of him, as she showered him with kindness when the crude lizard had not. Staring at her, Grovyle saw the pony's eye catching mane, sparkling among the forest's darkened shadows. The Pokemon had never realized of how beautiful she was until now, he feeling a strange sensation within him. The raptor had to admit that he hadn't been very kind to her, as his hastiness had always gotten to him. Grovyle wanted to thank Rose somehow, for her kindness she had given him. Feeling a whole lot better, the Pokemon rose to his feet, and joined the pony by the warm fire, that strange feeling returning once again.

Looking up, she said to him, "Oh, hey, Grovyle. What brings you here?"

"I...I just wanted to thank you for all you've done," he answered, locking eyes with hers. "Thank you ever so much for saving me, as I very well might not be here right now if you hadn't."

"No problem," Rose replied. "That's what friends do, they help each other out when times are tough."

The raptor felt rather puzzled by the pony's answer. "Friends?"

"Yeah, friends." she replied. "Don't you have any?"

Come to think of it, Grovyle's one and only friend was Celebi. Being in the Dark Future, it was rather risky trusting anyone, as their hearts were dark and twisted. "Sadly, I have very few friends of my own."

"Heh, same here." Rose replied. "To tell you the truth, you're the only friend I've ever had."

The Pokemon felt rather flattered of this. "That is most very heartening to hear that from you, but surly you have other friends besides me?"

"No, I don't have any other friends..." the pony answered sadly.

"But why is that?" the raptor asked. "Surly someone so kind and beautiful such as yourself would have many friends! How can that be?"

Upon hearing this, Rose burst into tears, clinging to the lizard tightly. "Oh, Grovyle!"

Surprised by this action, Grovyle slowly put his arms around his saddened partner, hoping to sooth her. "There, there, now, Rose, surly everything will get better over time..."

"No, things won't get better!" she cried, burring herself deeper against his shoulder. "Thanks to this freaky mane of mine, the other ponies are just going to continue on making fun of me!"

At last, the Pokemon had finally understood. The other ponies had treated Rose differently because of her gorgeous mane, but yet, why would they do that? The pony's mane was simply staggering, to the raptor, at least. This fact was truly puzzling to him. "Well, I personally don't agree with of what the others think. I think your mane looks simply radiant, plus, it was the very thing that helped me find you."

Rose looked up at him, blushing by his remark, and asked, "You really mean that?"

"Would I be lying to you?" he replied, stroking her soft, blue mane as well. "I'd never have the heart to make fun of you..."

"Thanks, Grovyle." she replied, hugging him once more. "That really means a lot to me..."

The Pokemon smiled, hugging her back most gently, her being very delicate as if she were a flower. Pulling away from her, the raptor yawned and said, "The both of us should get some sleep, as it is getting rather late. After we rest up for a while, we will then proceed with our search of the Time Gear." The pony nodded with a smile, as she slowly made her way to her bed, knowing she would have nothing but peaceful dreams tonight...


	16. The Ambush

**Chapter 16:**

**The Ambush**

Meanwhile, not far from them, was Midnight, the Sableye trailing behind her. As the winged unicorn flew by Treeshroud Forest, one of her minions took notice of something. Smirking evilly, the dark type Pokemon called to her, "Ahem! Excuse me, your majesty of darkness! I think I've found something you may want to see!"

Zooming right to him, Midnight hastily cried, "Well, come on! Out with it! I haven't got all day!"

The Sableye, being too frightened to respond, had another on step in and say, "What he's trying to say, your wickedness, is that he found some strange footprints leading into Treeshroud Forest."

"Really? How very interesting. Nicely done, fellow minion!" Midnight then flew over to the mysterious trail of prints, and began to study them. There were two different sets of footprints; the first being somewhat lizard-like, the second set being round and circular. Scanning over the markings some more, she finally concluded, "No doubt about it, those two have been here. They still must be in the forest searching for its Time Gear."

Approaching the entrance, the leading minion exclaimed, "Ok, then! Let's get going now!"

"No! Not that way, you idiotic Sableye!" replied a slightly annoyed Midnight. "I know a short cut!" Seeing that the winged unicorn had begun to take off, the Sableye shrugged, and then began to follow her.

Meanwhile, deep within the Treeshroud Forest, Grovyle and Rose had began moving again, hoping to get themselves even closer and closer to the Time Gear's location. "Hey, Grovyle," his partner spoke. "We've been walking for quite a while, shouldn't we be close to finding it by now?"

"Who knows!" the raptor replied frustratedly, throwing his arms up in the air. "It's as if this forest goes on forever! I just don't have the time to deal with such nonsense! I **MUST** find the Time Gear **NOW**!"

Glancing at him, as well as noticing that he was losing his patience, Rose assured to him softly, "Just calm down, Grovyle. I'm sure we'll find it soon..."

"Humph! We had better!" the Pokemon responded with a snarl. "If we don't come across it soon, then some trees are certain to fall!"

The pony gulped at this frightening thought, then proceeded on walking. As the two of them continued onward, the strangest thing occurred; Rose's cutie-mark began to glow! Falling behind the noble reptile, she then called out to him, "Grovyle!"

Feeling a sudden sense of worry coming over him, Grovyle quickly responded, "What? What is it?" Upon dashing to her side, the raptor noticed her glowing birthmark, gazing upon it deeply. Amazed, the Pokemon exclaimed, "This...This is simply incredible! How was it that you were able to do that?"

"Honestly, I have no idea..." answered Rose. "It just started glowing all on it's own. I don't even have the slightest idea of how or why my cutie-mark is doing this..."

"This is...This is just so truly amazing..." her partner spoke softly, slowly reaching out to touch the glowing imprint. Upon making contact of his hand to her marking, his skin tingled to the ever so warming sensation spreading throughout his body. Never in all the Pokemon's life had he ever felt such a glorious feeling, only those of anger and depression. For once in his lifetime, the raptor truly felt happy. He didn't want this feeling to go away...

Jerking back quickly, the pony said nothing, as she had appeared to enjoy his very contact, as well. Rose didn't understand of why she had felt this way, but she just decided to ignore it for now, as more confusing questions were clouding up her mind. "Do you think this could mean anything, Grovyle? You know, of why my cutie-mark started glowing?"

"Possibly," her partner answered, still feeling a bit amazed of what he had just felt. "But even me, one of the most cunning, fails to understand this..."

Just then, the blue maned pony caught sight of a luminous blue-greenish light in the distance. Rose wondered what it was that was creating this radiating glow. What could it be? Turning towards the noble reptile, she exclaimed to him, "Hey, Grovyle, what's that mysterious blue light that's concealed deep within the fog?"

The grass type looked towards the direction of where the pony was pointing, and sure enough, there was a light. It was a shimmering green-blueish-like glow, deeply shrouded in dense fog. His yellow eyes scanning over it some more, the Pokemon eventually came to realize of what it was that was giving off this very glow! "That's it! It's here! It's here!"

Rose remembered hearing those very words before! She had heard them in that one vision she had not too long ago! Which means, they had finally found the Time Gear! "Grovyle! Is this glow, coming from a Time Gear?"

"Yes," he replied with a nod. "That light is in fact coming from a gear of time. There is no mistaking it..."

"Well, let's hurry and retrieve it already!" the pony blurted out.

"Right! Let us do just that, then!" her partner replied.

Just as the raptor and pony stepped forward, the scenery darkened, as the blue-green-like radiance had grown faint. "Wh...What? What's going on? What has become of the Time Gear?" Grovyle's head soon turned, a faint "whee-hee-heeing" in the distance, growing closer and closer. "Huh? Who's there? Show yourself!"

"You just never learn, do you, Grovyle?" a voice replied, shrouded in the darkness.

"Who...Who's there?" a frightened Rose stuttered. "Show...Show yourself!"

"Very well, then! I shall take your request into consideration!" the voice spoke, the stranger descending out of the darkness. Now standing before them, was none other than the wicked Midnight herself!

"What? Mi...Midnight? How in the world were you able to track us here?"

"I believe that is my business, and mine alone. Not yours."

"Gah!" groaned the noble grass type, as things had not gone as he had planned.

"Wha...What do you want from us?" the pink pony demanded, feeling rather frightened, as well as now hiding behind her partner. "We didn't do anything wrong!"

"You've caused more than enough trouble for me as it is!" the hasty winged unicorn replied. "Thanks to you two's meddling of time, Lord Dusknoir wants me to hunt down the both of you!" Now eyeing the ever so shaking Rose, Midnight then remarked, "For the chosen pony, you truly are pathetic. And to think I was worried over nothing..."

"Don't think we will be giving in so easily, Midnight!" the Pokemon shot back. "We can take you on!"

"We...We can?" his frightened partner panicked. "There's just** NO WAY **we could do it!"

"We'll never know, unless we try!" Grovyle bolted. "We mustn't lose any hope, even when the odds of winning are overwhelmingly stacked against us! We just mustn't give up!"

"Ri...Right!" Rose responded with a nod. Turning towards Midnight, she then said, with a bit of confidence in her voice, "We'd never lose to someone as evil as you!"

"Ha! Say whatever you'd like, as it won't make any difference to me! I'll take you two out, and then turn you over to Master Dusknoir!" Putting one of her hoofs on her lips, the winged unicorn then let out a loud whistling sound, her minions then surrounding the pony and Pokemon.

Now feeling extremely frightened, the grass type's partner then asked him, "Gah! Grovyle! What are those things?"

"Those horrid creatures just so happen to be the Sableye," he answered. "They're the ones who do all the dirty work around here..."

Midnight then began the fight under her command. "Sableye! Attack!"

Just after that split second, the raptor quickly responded, plowing at the dark types, rapidly using leaf blade in a violent frenzy. Rose did nothing, as she didn't have any unique powers such as her partner did. The pony felt that she was practically useless...

Changing up his battling style a bit, Grovyle then switched to using energy ball, knocking the minions off of their feet. More and more Sableye poured towards the raptor, he himself not noticing the large group of them that had surrounded young Rose. "Grovyle! **HELP ME**!"

Hearing her piercing plea for help, her partner then jumped into the air, landing and smacking the large group of Pokemon aside. Panting heavily, Grovyle then assured, "There...You are safe now..."

Noticing that her tactics were failing, Midnight decided to step in, and take care of the both of them herself, as her minions had done a rather pitiful job. Readying a sneak attack for Rose's worn down partner, the winged unicorn then called out to him, "Take this!"

Being too exhausted to dodge, the dark pulse hit the noble grass type, him falling to the ground, his fatigue screaming in pain! "Gahhh!..."

"Grovyle!"

Lifting his head up, the Pokemon saw the element of death before him, fearing that his life was surly about to come to an end.

Looking down on the wounded Grovyle, the black blur then spoke, "Any last words before I finish you off completely?"

The raptor made no response, as he was in far too much pain to utter such a statement.

"Then prepare to die!" cried Midnight, launching another dark pulse towards him. The noble Pokemon covered his gleaming, yellow eyes, knowing he would surly be done for...

Just then, Rose did something completely unexpected. In a sheer act of bravery, the pony jumped in front of her wounded partner, unknowingly surrounding the two of them with some sort of giant pink forcefield.

The mysterious new force shielding them from Midnight's attack, the black winged unicorn uttered in huge shock, "H...Huh? What the...? My attack failed? How could this be?" Turning towards Grovyle's savior, Midnight then exclaimed at her angrily, "**YOU**! You're the one who ruined my attempt to kill Grovyle! Doing that, you're going to pay the price!"

Rose ducked down, and shut her eyes, preparing herself for the worst. But then...

Before the wicked winged unicorn had a chance to strike, she was taken by surprise by an energy ball attack, causing her to fall to the ground in severe pain.

The blue maned pony uncovered her eyes, seeing Grovyle standing alongside her. She gazed at her partner in sheer amazement.

Herself rising off of the ground, Midnight then angrily said, "Ah, screw this! Sableye! Let's go! We're going back to Temporal Tower!"

Her minions, rising to their feet, quickly and swiftly followed their leader, the lot of them returning to their crumbled tower in the sky.

Breaking the silence, her noble partner then commanded, "Let us go retrieve the Time Gear now. It is just up ahead..."

"R...Right!" Rose agreed, beginning to follow.

Upon their arrival to the mystical gear, the raptor remarked, "We've finally found it! A gear of time!"

Quickly snatching it, Grovyle then showed the blue gear to the curious pony. "This is the very thing we've been searching for, Rose. The Time Gear."

Rose gazed upon its beauty, it giving off a radiance similar to that of her mane. Curious of it, she then questioned, "What does it do?"

"The Time Gears serve a very important function in this very world. It is to make absolute certainty that time flows throughout its region properly."

A bit puzzled by the noble Pokemon's answer, the pony exclaimed, "But, if that's what the Time Gears are supposed to do, then how come our world is still paralyzed?"

"There are even things that I myself don't know of. Let us just keep it at that." Slipping the gear of time in his bag, Grovyle then asked her, "So, shall we head off to find the next of the Time Gears?"

"Sure, Grovyle! Anything for you..." she replied, saying the last part a bit softly. Rose then followed behind the raptor, leaving the Treeshroud Forest behind her.


	17. The Master of Aura

**Chapter 17:**

**The Master of Aura**

"So, let me know if I get this story of yours straight." her partner exclaimed. "When Midnight unleashed that attack that was intended to hit me, you somehow managed to block it. You also claimed that it looked like a pink forcefield, correct?"

"Yeah! That's exactly it!" answered Rose. Looking down and sighing deeply, she then admitted, "But I don't know what it all means..."

"Perhaps you posses an ability that you were unaware of before," suggested Grovyle. "Maybe it could even assist us in our search."

"Yeah, maybe..." mused the pony. "It just feels all so confusing..."

"Perhaps once you find a way of controlling it, it will make better sense to you then." said the raptor. "I am most certain of it!"

Feeling a bit better from having heard the lizard's words of encouragement, Rose then answered, "Ok, Grovyle, I'll take your words to heart. You are my partner after all."

Smiling at her reply, the noble Pokemon grasped her hoof, saying, "I shall take your words to heart, as well. Let us go now, partner."

Nodding and smiling, the blue maned pony began walking alongside him, the both of them unaware of what was among them.

"I believe the power you are referring to is the power of aura." a mysterious voice informed them, the stranger hidden within the darkness.

Reacting quickly, Grovyle called out to it, "Who's there? Show yourself demon! You can not hide from us forever!"

Emerging from the shadows was a Pokemon, a wolf-looking Pokemon to be exact, one that was standing on two legs. It had blue fur, as well as some black and cream fur in some areas. The wolf's eyes were a piercing red, and it had a pointed spike extending off of its chest, as well as on the top of its two front paws.

For some odd reason, deep within her, the pink pony felt some sort of odd sensation, one that didn't feel too good to her. Could it be that it had something to do with this strange Pokemon? Possibly. Was the creature's intentions made up of good or evil? She couldn't tell of which, but she did know that she was receiving a bad feeling off of him, and had no clue of why that was.

Readying an energy ball attack and protecting Rose, the reptile then demanded, "Who are are you? And what do you want from us?"

"There is no need to be startled, my good fellow." he informed. "I am Lucario, and I mean you no harm. Please believe me, as my heart has not become influenced by this bitter darkness..."

Thinking and looking him over a bit, the noble Pokemon let down his arm, nodding,"Well, alright then, I believe you. What is it that brings you here?"

"I couldn't help but overhear you talking to your young friend here, about of what she had just recently experienced." answered Lucario. "It seems to me that your pony friend is liable to control aura, as well as sense it."

"Aura?" questioned the blue maned pony, herself perking up a bit. "I can control it?" Looking at Grovyle, she then asked, "What is this aura stuff anyway, Grovyle?"

"Well, Rose, if I recall correctly, aura is said to be the living essence that is present in all living creatures."

"Yes, that is exactly it." the aura Pokemon nodded. "What your friend now just claimed is true. Aura is the living essence that is within all living beings."

"Wow, really?" asked Rose. "It just sounds all so amazing! So I'm really able to control all of that?"

"Correct." he nodded again. "You have the power of using aura in battle, as well as sensing the aura of others around you."

Looking at Lucario, and hearing of what he had told her, the pony then said to him, "Say, Lucario,"

"Yes?"

"You sure do know a lot about the power of aura, and I think it would be really great if I could learn how to use it for myself. So, I was kinda wondering if you could teach me of what you already know, I mean, if it's all right with you..."

"No, no, it's no trouble at all!" assured the aura Pokemon. "I would more than happy to teach you of what I know, but only if your friend is in agreement on it."

Turning towards the raptor, she asked, "Grovyle, can I have Lucario teach me? Please?"

Looking at Rose, and then at the blue Pokemon, Grovyle nodded and answered, "Alright, Rose, I'll give the both of you some time, but you two mustn't take too long, as who knows of how long we'll be safe here. Midnight and the Sableye are liable of returning at anytime, so we really must hurry."

"Not to worry," Lucario assured him. "We promise as to not take too long."

Nodding again, the noble grass type suggested, "Perhaps I could watch the both of you, as I am rather curious of this myself."

Quickly shaking his head, the aura Pokemon replied, "No, that won't be necessary, and besides, young Rose here might lose her concentration if she were to have someone watching her while she is off busy with her training."

"Oh, well, alright then..." the disappointed raptor answered.

"I can assure you that it is for the best, and do rest assured that your partner is in good hands. Besides, it seems to me as if you've been working much too hard. Just try to relax while I go about teaching her, all right?"

The raptor nodded again, casting his concerning eyes over the blue maned pony.

"Don't worry about me, Grovyle," she assured. "I'll try to keep myself safe, you just go off and relax, Ok?" Giving him a brief hug, the Pokemon found it very hard to release her from his grasp, but he was eventually able to do so.

Seeing Rose run off into a nearby forest, Grovyle felt something smack across the top of his head, causing him to fall to the ground...


	18. Purity of the Heart

**Chapter 18:**

**Purity of the Heart**

After awhile of lying unconsciously on the ground, Grovyle awoke, rubbing his head as well. Sitting himself up, the noble raptor tried recalling of what had happened to him last. Groaning, he muttered, "Ugh, what...what happened?" Remembering of the splitting head ache that was still lingering about him, the grass type remembered. "Something, or someone hit me, which apparently knocked me out." Rubbing his head some more, he moaned, "Gahh, it felt as if I was struck by a club of some sort." Scouting the area for his partner, the reptile spoke aloud, "Rose? Oh, now where did she go off to, I wonder?" He then recalled more of what had happened. "Ahh, yes! If I do remember correctly, she went off into the Darkened Forest to train with Lucario!" Realizing of the place that the both of them had gone to, the concerned Grovyle said, "I certainly do hope that Rose is doing alright, after all, Darkened Forest is pretty dark, hence its name. It's quite easy to get lost in such places." Taking a good far view of the forest itself, the raptor then suggested, "Perhaps I should check on them, just to be certain." After deciding on doing just that, he headed out to the dungeon, hoping that his partner was safe.

Traveling throughout the Darkened Forest, the noble grass type tried his best not to bump into anything, continuing on his way. Upon reaching the forest's clearing, Grovyle was in great shock at what he saw! There, in plan sight, was Rose, trapped in darkly colored force field! Seeing that she was unconscious, the raptor cried out, "**ROSE**!" Wanting to save her, the Pokemon ran and collided into the force field, only receiving a painful shocking as a result. "Gaahhh!" he yelped.

Her partner's voice awakening the pony, she yelled, "Grovyle! Get yourself out of here while you still can!"

Confused and still in pain, the reptile replied, "Wh...why? I'm not, ugh, leaving you behin..."

Getting cut off, Grovyle was suddenly hit with a sphere of dark purple energy, knocking him to the ground. "Gahhh..." moaned the grass type, not knowing of what had hit him. Looking up, he found his answer; a jackal looking creature with dark purple and black fur, appearing somewhat similar to Lucario. Rising back to his feet, the puzzled raptor said, "Lu...Lucario? Is that honestly and truly you? If so, then what has become of you?"

Laughing deeply in response, the aura Pokemon then answered, "Were you honestly that idiotic, Grovyle? Did you honestly intend of me being good?"

"Well...yes," he stammered. "I found you to be truly convincing when we first met..." Glancing at the frightened pony, and then back at Lucario, the noble Pokemon then stated in a more serious tone, "...But I guess I thought wrong. You had been deceiving my partner and I the entire time, hiding your true intentions from us." Looking him straight in the eyes, he demanded, "Let Rose go at once, Lucario, or you will truly be sorry. Don't make me have to use force!"

Chuckling deeply, Lucario questioned, "Are you challenging me?"

"I am!" nodded Grovyle. "I refuse to back down! I simply just can not stand by and allow you to bring any harm to Rose!"

"Oh, I assure you I won't do anything of that sort..." the aura Pokemon spoke softly.

"You won't?" asked the puzzled grass type.

"...Instead, I'll transform her vibrant aura from kind and caring, to bitter and twisted!" he finished.

Shocked of what the evil Pokemon had just stated, the raptor responded, "I won't allow you to do such a thing! I'll even go as far as killing you if you were to even try to!" Thinking strategically, he proclaimed, "If I shall defeat you in battle, you release my partner, understood?"

"Ha! So be it, then!" snarled Lucario. "But just so you know, I won't be going easy on you!"

"Ha! I couldn't care less!" boasted the confidante Grovyle. "I am not scared of you!" Rose gazed amazedly at her partner, taking note of his sheer bravery. She found him to be a truly determined Pokemon, a creature refusing to back down in even the toughest of situations. There was a lot to be learned from him...

"Ha! Good, because here I come!" the jackal cried, lunging towards the noble grass type. His claws taking shape, the aura Pokemon unleashed a sharp metal claw attack, leaving a bloody mark across Grovyle's muzzle. Despite the stinging area, the wood gecko Pokemon refused to give up! He wasn't about to let his partner think that he was a coward! He had to save her!

Lucario, unleashing yet another painful dose of metal claw, lunged to attack the grass type, but wasn't expecting the raptor to counter with a leaf blade! Groaning, the two creatures used the best of their ability to push one another back, both refusing to give in. However, despite all of his best effort, the jackal's strength was just far too great, forcefully sending the Pokemon flying backwards.

Grovyle moaned in pain, his body refusing to move. Upon looking up at the smirking aura Pokemon, he had then become convinced that there was just no way of defeating this thing, nor being able to save Rose for that matter. All hope seemed lost for the noble raptor, but then...

"Grovyle!" shouted the blue maned pony. "You just can't give up! I just know you can beat him if you really try! You just can't lose hope!"

Hearing his partner's words of encouragement, the Pokemon's glimmer of hope had been restored! He wasn't about to give up just yet! Eying Lucario closely, the wood gecko Pokemon then realized, _"Hmm... If I do recall correctly, Lucario is fighting/steel type... What could I possibly do to fare greatly against him? I must think of something..."_ Grovyle then realized of what had to be done; if he were to used dig, a ground type move, wearing his opponent down would be much easier! Of course! It all made sense to him now! Staring his target down, the reptile was ready to carry out his ingenious plan!

"Why are you looking at me like that?" demanded Lucario, his paws now on his hips.

Not giving him an answer, the raptor then began burrowing into the earth's surface, paying no heed to the jackal. He kept this up until he knew for certainty that the aura Pokemon was just above him.

"You coward!" his opponent taunted. "Come out here, and fight like a true Pokemon would!"

"All right! If you insist!" he replied, popping out of the ground and colliding into Lucario! Rose gazed in astonishment, seeing the vile creature fall to its knees. It was all finally over! Grovyle had won!

"Yay, Grovyle!" she cheered. "I just knew you could do it!"

Seeing the jackal moaning in agony, the wood gecko Pokemon looked down upon him, an intimidating look in his yellow eyes. "Well, I certainly hope you've learned your lesson, you uncaring brute! You had better not bring harm to any of my friends again, understood?"

Nodding quickly, he sputtered, "Sur...sure! I won't bring any ha...harm to her ever again!"

"You had better not!" snarled Grovyle. "Now, beat it!"

Not even attempting to fight back, Lucario left the scene, being the true coward he really was.

Just as he had left, the dark force field had vanished as well, releasing the grass type's partner. "Grovyle!" called the pony, immediately rushing to his side. "Oh, wow! Grovyle! I just thought you were so amazing in that battle!" Glancing deeply into the eyes of her partner, Rose softly spoke, "And to think that you went through all that trouble just so you could rescue me..."

Becoming red in the face, the raptor quickly responded, "It was nothing special! I only did so in order to keep the promise I made with your grandmother! I assured her that I would keep you safe!"

"Oh..." she replied, a bit disappointed. "Well, it's good to see you're staying true to your word at least..." Sighing, his partner said, "I just knew there was something odd about him..."

"Odd about who, Rose?" questioned the Pokemon.

"Lucario." she answered. "When I saw him for the first time, I felt some odd sensation within my body, one that didn't feel too good..."

"Really? How very interesting..." the grass type spoke, his claws now under his chin. "Now, why do you suppose that happened?" He was very curious to learn more of this.

Recalling something, Rose then stated, "Well, Lucario did say I'm able to sense the aura of others, right?"

"That is correct." Grovyle nodded. "You are in fact liable of doing so."

The pony then came up with a theory of her own. "Well, maybe when he first approached us, I was somehow able to sense his aura... Perhaps what I sensed, was actually the darkness within Lucario's heart..."

Feeling slightly shocked and fascinated by what she had just stated, her partner then replied, "Ahhh, yes! What you just claimed makes perfect sense! Perhaps what you had sensed was none other than the dark aura shrouding his bitter and twisted heart!" Looking at Rose once more, he informed, "Most of the Pokemon of the Dark Future are similar to that of Lucario; malicious and timid, their hearts consumed by vast amounts of darkness..."

Making sense of what the raptor had just said, the blue maned pony smiled and chirped, "Heh! Not all Pokemon living here are like that, you know!"

Puzzled by her statement, the wood gecko Pokemon then responded, "Hmm? Are you absolutely certain? Are you honestly saying that not all Pokemon living here are portrayed as vicious, cruel monsters?"

"Yup! I'm very certain!" she beamed, placing a hoof on her partner's chest. "I can sense your own aura, Grovyle, and it's telling me that deep down, you're a sincerely kind Pokemon, not willing to hurt anybody." Concentrating some more, Rose then claimed, "Yes, I can feel your vibrant energy flowing within you..."

Amazed by her logic, Grovyle spoke rather softly, "It is truly heartening to hear you say such things of me, Rose, and even if I fail to sense the aura that is within you, I have no doubts of it being warm and gentle..."

A twinkle in her light blue eyes, his partner hugged him, saying, "Thank you, Grovyle... I feel so lucky to have you as my friend..."

Smiling, he hugged her back, admitting, "I feel the same way, partner..."


	19. Secrets Within the Limestone

**Chapter 19:**

**Secrets Within the Limestone**

Having left the forest a long while back, Grovyle and Rose had made quite a vast amount of distance, the pony being rather curious of where the next Time Gear was located.

"Hey, Grovyle," she asked. "Where do you think the next Time Gear is hidden? The suspense is just killing me!"

"Well, Rose," answered the wood gecko Pokemon. "That would all depend on when another vision is triggered. Once we have done that, we'll have figured out its location. Does this make sense?"

"Yeah, I guess you do make some sense, Grov." she replied, resting one of her front hoofs on a large, limestone covered rock. "We just need to somehow trigger another vision and then we're all set!"

Suddenly, Rose felt a familiar dizzy feeling set upon her, the pain being far too great for her to handle. Noticing that her vision was quickly fading to black, a white light flashed, a vision coming to her.

The pony saw yet another Time Gear, only this one appeared to located within a cave, surround by much limestone. What place was this? What could this mean? She just couldn't help but wonder why. She needed answers.

Breaking away from her dizzy spell, she noted her partner giving her an odd look. He then asked, "Rose, are you alright?"

Just seconds after this was said, the blue maned pony then blurted out, "Grovyle! I had another vision!"

"Really? That's simply astounding!" he remarked. Quickly getting back on topic, Grovyle questioned, "So, tell me of it! Where was the Time Gear located according to your Dimensional Scream?"

"It seemed to be in some sort of cave, one that was filled with lots of limestone." she answered, glancing back at the lizard. "Do you know where this place is, Grovyle?"

Hearing her question, the Pokemon then mused, "Hmm, a cave that is filled with much limestone? I believe what you are refering to is known as the Limestone Caverns?"

"So you do know where this place is?" Rose replied.

"Indeed I do." he nodded. Taking out his map, Grovyle showed his partner the exact location of the dungeon. "It is right about... here! This is where the next Time Gear is hidden!"

Looking at where his claw was pointing, the pony couldn't help but notice the vast distance of where they were and of that of the cavern. "It sure does seem pretty far from here... it'll probably take days just to get there!"

"Not necessarily." assured the grass type. "As I know of a shortcut to these so called limestone caverns."

"Really?" asked his partner, a glimmer in her eyes.

"Yes, partner." he nodded. "I do know of an much easier way to get to these very caverns."

"Well, that's a relief!" smiled the pony. "I guess we had better get going now, huh?"

"Indeed, we must." agreed Grovyle. "If you are to just follow me, I am most certain we will find that Time Gear!"

"Alright, then! Lead the way, Grovyle!" Rose beamed.

Responding with a smile, the wood gecko Pokemon then began to set off, the blue maned pony trailing right behind him. The team traveled through many dark caves, dense jungle and other such dungeons to reach their chosen destination.

After making quite a bit of distance, the pony and raptor finally approached the entrance of the Limestone Caverns. Despite the dimness of the cave's interior, Rose still wasn't willing to back down. As long as she had her loyal partner beside her, she felt like she could overcome just about any challenge!

"Well, here it is." informed the grass type. "We have finally reached the Limestone Caverns!" Turning towards his partner, he then asked, "Well, Rose, we have finally made it here. Do you still think you're up for the challenge?"

"I guess so..." she replied, trying to not let her timidness get the best of her. "I think I can handle it..."

Giving her a look of approval, the Pokemon nodded and then replied, "Hmm! Very well, then! Let us now be on our way to find that gear of time!" Grovyle then began to descend deep within the cave, Rose slowly beginning to follow.

The pony, who had felt so confident before, still couldn't help but shiver in fear at all of the dark sites! She just wanted it all to disappear from existence!

Suddenly, getting an idea, Rose then proceeded by closing her eyes, hoping that this would shut out all of the frightening images that were among her. Perhaps if she did this, everything would seem less scary.

Continuing to walk, Rose felt rather satisfied of this new tactic of hers, that is until she collided into one of the cavern walls!

Seeing her on the ground, as well as seeing her rubbing her nose, her partner then snarled in annoyance, "Gah! Stop it with all of this messing around! I haven't got all day!" Letting out a huff, the raptor then turned around and came to an immediate stop!

Confused of his actions, the pony questioned, "Huh? What's the matter, Grovyle? Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"

Rather baffled, Grovyle carefully studied of what was ahead of him; two different caves, with a small gap between them. Either one of the paths just had to lead them to the Time Gear, by which one was it? Rather frustrated by this, the reptile let out a deep sigh, grumbling, "Ugh, this is vexing..."

Taking a look at the two formations for herself, Rose then pondered aloud, "Hmm, two different paths?" Turing towards the raptor, she asked, "What are we supposed to do now, Grovyle? Which path should we take?"

Glaring back at her, the grass type then replied in a rather serious tone, "We must split up. It is the only thing we can do..."

"But, but Grovyle!" Rose wailed. "I just can't go by myself!" Tears now flooding within her eyes, she softly spoke, "I need you..."

Seeing her tears, the Pokemon reluctantly took ahold of her hoof, sighing, "Alright, then... We'll explore the two paths as a team instead..."

His partner now smiling warmly at him, the both of them headed inside the cave to the right of them...


End file.
